By Mat Barrett

Root rot appearing in Saskatchewan, traces back to 2016 growing season

Aug 6, 2020 | 3:00 PM

SASKATCHEWAN – Two wet growing seasons, four years apart, have contributed to root rot appearing in some pea and lentil crops.

Sherrilyn Phelps is the agronomy manager with the Saskatchewan Pulse Growers said there are some similarities to certain fields.

“The one factor that we are noticing with a lot of these fields that are really bad this year is a lot of them did have either peas or lentils in 2016,” she said. “So four years, which is a good rotation, under normal circumstances, but the problem was in 2016, it was another wet year. So, a lot of these fields did have signs of root rot initially, but just in small patches. Then going back in and seeding a susceptible crop, and getting another wet year, it just seems to be like dynamite.”

Aphanomyces combined with fusarium sharply reduces yield. Phelps said the plants won’t be taking in water or nutrients and could die prematurely.

She says root rots are being found in a number of areas.

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“Lots of reports all over the province, so it’s not just one hot spot,” Phelps said. “But I think west central in particular with their heavier clay soils and high levels of pulses in rotation. It’s seen some severe effects particularly in the lentils this year.”

Once a field has aphanomyces, you should not seed peas or lentils for an eight-year period. Plant breeders are working on developing resistant varieties but they are still a few years away.

For future years, Phelps recommends examining each field’s past history prior to planting peas or lentils.

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mat.barrett@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @matbarrett6