The 2013 season proved mercifully benign for most pulse crop diseases, especially since the late spring planting could have been especially hard hit, reported PGRO disease pathologist, Kerry Maguire. However, growers should be aware of the unusual incidences of Ascochyta seen in beans last year, which may have an implication for seed stocks this spring, she warned.
One valuable new option of spring bean growers will be the EAMU for SL567A to tackle foliar Downy Mildew, she advised. “Wakil seed treatment is essential to protect seedlings where there is a known problem. But the pathogen can survive in the soil for years, with spores spread in wind during conducive conditions,” warned Dr Maguire.
“Now that we have a foliar control, growers should be monitoring crops and spraying with SL567A when 25% of plants show symptoms to get good control.”
However, there is still no foliar treatment for Downy Mildew in peas (PDF 723.81KB), so seed treatment remains the only option.
Dr Maguire also warned that the Foot Rot Index was also high for the 2014 season, with a legacy of increased Fusarium and associated root rot pathogens over two consecutive wet years, combined with shorter rotations on many farms. Around 50% of soils sampled were now classified in the ‘high’ or ‘very high’ risk categories, including 10% at the ‘very high’ risk, compared to 2% in 2013 and nothing in the previous years.
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