Posted: September 1, 2009

A top priority for canola growers when label checking this time of year is to pay attention to pre-harvest intervals, advises the Canola Council of Canada.

Pre-harvest interval (PHI) indicates how many days a crop should be left alone after applying a pesticide, before the crop is harvested, to guard against unsafe or unacceptable residues in or on the harvested seeds.

The Council's crop program manager Chris Anderson says in an item on the Canola Watch news service, as "harvest gets closer, growers need to pay even more attention to the pre-harvest interval."

This year, with bertha armyworm and diamondback moth counts climbing, growers may be considering late applications of insecticides to protect their yields. "With canola prices where they are right now, growers have extra incentive to protect their bushels," Anderson says. "but they need to make sure they are choosing the right product with the right pre-harvest interval."

More information is available on the Canola Council website.

Posted: September 1, 2009

Potato growers across Canada now have the option of applying Scala fungicide by air for control of early blight.

Scala is the only Group 9 fungicide registered to control early blight (Alternaria solani) in potatoes, and has been registered as a ground application since 2007, according to a Bayer news release.

Scala has a unique mode of action – different than strobilurins – and is registered as a tank mix with Bravo to provide two modes of action for stronger resistance management. Scala protects potatoes through locally systemic activity and translaminar movement, and is best suited for a preventative treatment program

"Large-scale potato growers, particularly in Alberta and Manitoba, will benefit from the convenience and efficiency of aerial early blight control," says David Kikkert, Portfolio Manager, Horticulture with Bayer CropScience. "Prevention is the best strategy for early blight, and the new aerial application means growers will have the option of choosing Scala to get an early start on protecting their potato crop."

Read the full Bayer news release here.

Posted: September 1, 2009

Growers now have the option to apply Headline fungicide to protect their flax and sunflower crops. BASF Canada has received an amended registration for use of the product on flax, and an emergency use registration from the Pest Management Regulatory Agency for its use on sunflowers.

According to BASF news releases, producers can use Headline to protect their flax crop against Pasmo (Septoria linicol), a serious, yield-robbing disease that can also negatively impact the plant's health.

Early infection of Pasmo can reduce the yield and quality of flax substantially. Most of the yield loss occurs because infected plants ripen too quickly, seeds do not fill normally, or heavy boll-drop by wind and rain occurs.

Producers can also apply Headline to protect their sunflower crop to protect the crop against sunflower rust, a serious leaf disease that with early infections reduces yields by anywhere from 25 to 50 percent. According to the Manitoba disease survey, sunflower rust was present in 74 per cent of the surveyed fields in 2008.

More information is available on the BASF Canada website. For information on registration for flax, click here. For information on registration for sunflower, click here.