Growers and agronomists looking for help in making sclerotinia spray decisions this summer will have access to a new online tool from the Canola Council of Canada. Available at CanolaCalculator.ca, the sclerotinia risk assessment tool offers both a recommendation about whether or not to spray a canola crop (at 20-50 per cent flower) based on several inputs from the user, along with an opportunity to assess the spray decision by rating sclerotinia severity at maturity (30-60 per cent seed colour change).
The second part of the tool is an economic calculator to provide an estimated return on a fungicide application based on different scenarios including percent of infection, fungicide cost, expected yield and market price.
“These new tools are designed to help growers and agronomists make timely, informed decisions on whether a foliar fungicide application is advised,” said Chris Manchur, CCC agronomy specialist and lead on sclerotinia stem rot. “Farmers have a lot of choices to make throughout the growing season. It’s very exciting to put this new technology in their hands to help simplify decision making and assess potential impacts on productivity and profitability.”
Sclerotinia stem rot is one of the most economically significant canola disease in Canada, resulting in significant yield loss each year. Caused by the fungus Sclerotinia sclerotiorum, the disease is heavily influenced by environmental conditions leading up to and during the flowering period of canola, which can make predicting outbreaks and the grower’s decision to spray difficult.