CropTalk What’s neW With

Bayer CropsCienCe

produCts

Volume 20 | Issue 3

a logical approach to protect canolaWith many pests in your crop, you scout for the problem

and then make a decision on how to deal with it. But with sclerotinia stem rot on canola, to get the best control you have to apply a fungicide before you even know it’s go-ing to be a problem.

The decision of whether or not to spray is difficult for many farmers, yet the wrong decision can result in a sclero-tinia outbreak severely affecting your yield at harvest.

so how do you decide if a fungicide application is worth the investment? First, look at last year’s disease incidence as sclerotinia overwinters in the soil. second, look at your crop health. Given the widespread incidence of sclerotinia across the Prairies, if you have a thick, healthy crop, you are at risk.

Finally, take a look at the online tool developed by Bayer Cropscience to help calculate your potential return on in-

vestment from a Proline fungicide applica-tion on your canola.

The Proline logic Calculator will ask you to input agronomic, environmental and eco-nomic factors, and then it will calculate how Proline fungicide can protect your crop’s yield and make you money.

The simple-to-use calculator walks you though the decision step-by-step, taking into account the variables that should be considered. These include yield potential, the estimated price of canola, application costs and acres of InVigor and Proline purchased. It also provides a chart for entering potential disease pressure based on past and current regional environmen-tal conditions.

once all your information is entered, the calculator will provide you with a suggested return on investment from a timely applica-tion of Proline. You can expect more from your crop when you choose Proline, and the logic Calculator will help show how it can protect your investment. Ct

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http://www.bayercropscience.ca/products/fungicides/proline/logic-calculator/

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A NewsleTTer From BAYer CroPsCIeNCe

With the right tools in hand, disease protection is all in the timing Last year it was wet on much of the prairies. really wet.

And that meant a jump in disease across most of west-ern Canada. You saw first hand how disease could take a good-looking crop and turn it into a poor quality, low-yielding performer. This year you can expect more from your crop with a timely fungicide application.

Bayer Cropscience Canada offers a fam-ily of fungicides for different crops, in-cluding Prosaro®, Folicur® ew and Pro-line®. each product has unique properties to meet your crop’s needs. To get the maximum return on your fungicide invest-ment, you need to pick the fungicide that will work best – when you need it to work.

prosaro is the latest cereal fungicide from Bayer Cropscience. using the two best active ingredients available, it has pre-

ventative and curative properties in the fight against leaf dis-ease and fusarium head blight (FHB) in wheat and barley.

when applied at early flowering of the wheat head and just after head emergence in barley, Prosaro protects against FHB through the grain fill period, while curing any existing leaf disease on the plant.

For optimal protection of both leaf disease and FHB, Pro-saro can be applied to wheat when at least 75% of the wheat heads on the main stem are emerged up until 50% of the heads on the main stem are in flower. For barley, apply when at least 70% of the barley main stem heads are fully emerged with 50% of the florets exposed.

providing systemic control, Proline is a fast acting fungicide for broad-spectrum disease control in a variety of crops

including canola and pulses. It belongs to a class of chemis-tries which protect, cure and eradicate essential components of the disease growth.

Proline offers high levels of control against sclerotinia stem rot in canola, especially when applied at 20-50% flow-er. while the symptoms of stem rot don’t appear until later in the crop’s growth, getting it early is key to preserving yield. on average, canola treated with Proline in the early stages saw a 15% yield advantage over the untreated check.

Proline is also a proven performer against ascochyta blight in chickpeas and lentils, which can result in yield losses in excess of 70%. Proline can be applied to pulses at the first sign of disease, and can be sprayed three times in a crop year.

Folicur eW has a flexible window of application, a wide range of application rates and an im-pressive spectrum

of disease control on wheat, barley and oats. As with most fungicides, the best results come from application prior to infection, or in the very early stages of disease development.

To best combat both leaf and stem diseases, Folicur ew should be applied at ¾ rate from the late vegetative state to the end of the flowering stage.

For suppression of FHB and control of septoria glume blotch, Folicur ew should be applied when a minimum of 75% of the heads on the main stem are fully emerged, up until 50% of the heads on the main stem are in flower. Ct

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Germination End of tillering

Beginning of stem

elongation

First node at least

1 cm above tillering node

Node 2 at least

2 cm above node 1

Flag leaf just visible, still rolled

Flag leaf stage: flag leaf fully unrolled

First awns visible

Beginning of heading

End of heading

Flowering Grain filling

Ripening

late vegetativeflowering

early vegetative

FUNGICIDE TIMING

PROSARO®

FOLICUR®

STRATEGO®

PROSARO

CropTalkKeeping on top of sclerotinia risk now can mean better yields at harvestnow that your crop is in the ground, it’s time to start think-

ing about in-season control. sclerotinia stem rot struck western growers hard last year, and to keep it from wreaking havoc this season, growers have to be on top of the disease.

“once the crop is in the ground the only way to keep sclerotinia under control is with a fungicide,” says roger rotariu, manager, oilseed Crops Fungicides, Insecticides and seed Treatments with Bayer Cropscience. “If you have a good, thick crop you have to assume that if the weather conditions are right, you will have sclerotinia in your crop.”

most fungicides on the market control about 65-70% of sclerotinia stem rot. Proline from Bayer Cropscience, how-ever, is one of the only products available with consistent 80% control.

sclerotinia can affect yield on all broadleaf crops. A rule of thumb is that yield loss equals disease incidence divided by two. In 2010, many fields saw a 30-40% infection rate, meaning a 15-20% yield loss. High levels of disease last year also meant higher than normal levels of disease inoculum left overwintering in the soil.

“Higher incidence of disease does not necessarily mean higher severity, but it’s a good start,” says Faye Dokken-Bouchard, a plant disease spe-cialist with the Province of saskatchewan. “The growth of the disease is heav-ily dependent on in-season moisture, especially two to three weeks before flowering.”

In 2010, the Province of sas-katchewan collected information on the incidence and severity of sclerotinia stem rot. They found that 91% of the 265 fields re-viewed had some signs of the disease, and in moist areas they found sclerotinia on up to 93% of the plants.

think aheadwhile rotation is an important crop manage-ment tool, the sclerotia that cause stem rot can live in the soil for up to five years, and can affect or

be hosted on many crops. However spacing out affected crops will reduce the build-up of the disease inoculum in the soil.

seed choice can also help reduce disease risk. Bayer Crop-science will launch a new InVigor hybrid next year that will offer built-in defense mechanisms to fight against sclerotinia.

“After one year of trials we saw a significant reduction of sclerotinia,” says rotariu. “we anticipate when you combine this seed with a fungicide like Proline you’ll be able to reduce your infection rate by over 90%.”

There are also soil treatments available for application in fall to kill off the overwintering sclerotia. But growers will need to look at the situation around them. “while crop rotation and disease incidence in their own field is most critical, spores can also spread from field to field through the air,” Dokken-Bouchard says. “Growers need to be as aware of what’s in their neighbour’s field as they are with their own.” Ct

disease Cycle of sclerotinia stem rot

26 | Farm Forum | Summer 2011

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A NewsleTTer From BAYer CroPsCIeNCe

Always read and follow label directions. Folicur®, Proline®, Prosara® are trademarks of Bayer. All other products mentioned are trademarks of their respective companies. Bayer CropScience is a member of CropLife Canada.

text to win with prosaro!it couldn’t be easier to enter. Just text prosaro1 to 32075 for your chance to win an all-expense paid trip to the 2011 Country Music association awards in nashville, tennessee. enter now – contest closes July 30th! the winner will be selected by random draw on august 8, 2011 and contacted by phone. Visit prosaro online at BayerCropscience.ca/prosaro for complete contest rules and regulations.

do you know what fusarium head blight is costing you?

Fusarium head blight (FHB) infections are increasing throughout the Canadian prairies. FHB reduces kernel weight, quality and ultimately the yield of your wheat and barley.

The Canadian Grain Commission announced that as little as 0.2% infection rate could mean the difference between malt barley and feed, with a 0.8% infection rate costing you a full grade.

premium protectionNew Prosaro fungicide from Bayer Cropscience delivers premium protection for your wheat and barley. when ap-plied at early heading, Prosaro protects against FHB, re-duces DoN levels and other mycotoxins, and stops all major leaf diseases.

Prosaro contains two leading active ingredients – tebuco-nazole for fast activity and prothioconzole for future defense. Prosaro will deliver the highest level of control and curative activity on leaf diseases and the highest level of protection against FHB in wheat and barley.

with Prosaro you can protect your wheat and barley against the threat of FHB. Ct

PROSARO

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