Manitoba Forage Seed Report

INTRODUCTION

by Doug Cattani, Forage Seed Specialist

Manitoba Forage Seed Report - 2009 Final Report

Manitoba Agriculture, Food and Rural Initiatives present the final Forage Seed Report for the 2009 growing season. Our intention has been to provide producers with timely information with respect to the growing year and potential pest problems.

Initially four MAFRI specialists participated and placed relevant and timely information into this report. They included David Ostermann, the Pollination Apiarist, Dr. Philip Northover, Plant Pathologist, Brent Elliott, Entomologist and Dr. Doug Cattani, Forage Seed Specialist. Dr. Northover however, left MAFRI in July.

Field surveys were completed this week with respect to diseases, insects, weeds and other agronomic and environmental problems. We are covering alfalfa, timothy and perennial ryegrass in our field surveys. The areas covered in this pilot project are Eastern Manitoba, the Interlake, the Red River Valley and Central Manitoba as time permits. We welcome information from others and from other areas within Manitoba.

We are planning to assess the need to continue this report in its current format over the winter, however we are anticipating continuing the report in 2010.

We would like to thank the producers that have allowed us to utilize their production fields in 2009 and are looking forward to working with producers in 2010.

We would also like to thank Heather Wiebe and Monika Menold for their assistance in putting together the reports. We would also like to thank all those who have provided input for the report and providing feedback as to the usefulness of the information we have provided.

Crop Weather Report

PRODUCTION

by Doug Cattani, Forage Seed Specialist

For the week ending October 2, 2009

Production

Weather: We have experienced a summer with below average temperatures and therefore below average for growing degree days during crop development and flowering. We have experienced a very good September which has brought up the growing degree day total to near the long-term average. This has allowed for a period to get the field work done that has been put off due to the wet and cool weather, in some areas since last fall. (Please see the Weather Report link for the details of your area). The forecast for this week is indicating that there is a chance that we may be wet again by the time this is read.

Alfalfa: Alfalfa yields are relatively low and reports have been circulating that only 20-30% of the alfalfa for seed fields are being harvested for seed. While there have been pockets of average production, it is being reported that yields are down.

Perennial Ryegrass: Perennial ryegrass yields were in general below-average to average. Reports are that approximately 40% of the fields were lost over the winter of 2008-2009.

Timothy: Relative to alfalfa and perennial ryegrass, timothy fields faired better over the past growing season. Yields are reported as average to below-average, with most fields being harvested.

2010 Field Season:
It is our intention to continue this project in 2010, and I would like to begin this fall with scouting for potential weed problems. Anyone with a field they are willing to allow us to scout on a weekly basis please contact me at the address listed on the covering email. We are interested in Alfalfa, timothy and perennial ryegrass crops and it is my intention to expand the areas covered, however this will depend upon resources.

APICULTURE

by David Ostermann, Pollination Apiarist

Leafcutting Bee - September 24, 2009

The weather in most parts of the province, where leafcutting bees are kept, was not good this year. The improvement in conditions at the very end of the season may have helped, but it’s not clear if it was too late to make any difference or if those last bees were productive at all. The final bee return numbers won’t be known until the nests are stripped. A number of producers I talked to expressed their concern about the poor fill and weight of nests; they generally indicated they’d never seen a year like this before, consistently wet and cool with so few flying days, and so late. Last year was also a challenging year for many producers which is adding to the pressures in the industry.

WEEDS AND HERBICIDES

by Doug Cattani, Forage Seed Specialist

For the week ending October 2, 2009

Weeds and Herbicides
Weeds were problematic in a number of the fields we visited in 2009, to the extent of forcing the field to be clipped prior to harvest. Dandelions and Canada thistle were prevalent in all of the alfalfa fields we scouted in 2009, with only one exception. Narrow-leaf hawk’s-beard was also found in alfalfa fields, sometimes being the greatest problem. Timothy fields were relatively clean with perennial grasses being the major weed problem, however not as prevalent as broadleaf weeds in alfalfa.

Registered Herbicides for Forage Seed Crops: Legumes | Grasses (pdf)

INSECTS AND INSECTICIDES

by Brent Elliott, Forage Seed Crop Entomologist

For the week ending October 2, 2009

Nothing new to report this week.

DISEASES AND FUNGICIDES

by Philip Northover, Forage Seed Plant Pathologist

Diseases of note - Week ending July 10, 2009

AUDIO VERSION:

In our scouted fields, Purple eyespot/Cladosporium spot (Cladosporium phlei) symptoms continued to be observed, the severity levels do not appear to have increased in severity.

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In Timothy ‘Choke” disease (Epichloë typhina) was observed for the first time this year. This fungus disease, looks like the fungus has a grip on the sheath. This fungus is an endophyte that lives inside the grass, and is spread through infected seed. The ‘choke’ symptom (see below) halts the production of grass seed however. Due to the production of alkaloids which may be harmful for grazing animals, any decision to use as feed should be made with caution.

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Stemphylium leaf spot (the W-T-warm type and the cool type C-T caused by Stemphylium botryosum ) continues to be observed on alfalfa foliage, in increasing severity. Rains on Thursday, would assist in continued spread of this and the other leaf spot pathogens.

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Common leaf Spot (Pseudopeziza medicaginis) was also observed this week, not unexpected as the fungus that causes this disease in widespread throughout the scouted areas.

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Yellow Blotch (Leptotrochila medicaginis) was observed in fields in the interlake and the Beausejour areas, both in association with the other two leaf spots mentioned, and alone. The spots at first appear yellow, later taking on a darker yellow-orange appearance, as the lesions age. All of these leaf spots could cause defoliation, and potentially some degree of yield loss. There are foliar fungicides registered for management of these leaf spots. Dithane, Manzate, Penncozeb, Headline and Lance are all registered for use.

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For more info on Purple eyespot please see: http://www.gov.mb.ca/agriculture/crops/diseases/fac51s00.html