b'A NEW TOOL HELPING YOU IN THE REALM OF RETAIL SEED SALES.FUSARIUM MANAGEMENT 101The dreaded F-word was back in the news recently after the Alberta government deregulated fusarium. Three experts give us the latest on how best to manage it.Marc ZienkiewiczTHE ALBERTA GOVERNMENTrecentlyTrent Whitingannounced it was removing its fusariumParent Seed Coordinator, Western Canada, SeCanrestrictions, bringing its regulations inIn addition to working with SeCan members in Alberta and BC, line with other provinces. We thought it aTrent takes breeder seed and carries out contract multiplication. good a time to bring you the latest on theHe is also a member of Albertas Fusarium Action Committee.fusarium situation in Canada and how you can go about proactively dealing with theWhats the first thing people should know when it comes to managing fusarium?problem and ensuring you are protectedThere isnt a one-size-fits-all for managing F. graminearum, or any and know what management strategies aredisease for that matter, but with some planning and cooperation from available. Mother Nature, you should be able to mitigate its risk. When it comes to What is fusarium? According to Albertarotation, canola-wheat, canola-wheat is not suitable. You have to switch it Agriculture, fusarium head blight (FHB),up. Environmental conditions are the second big consideration. If Mother also known as scab or tombstone, is aNature is against you in the form of hot, humid conditions over multiple serious fungal disease of wheat (includingyears, your risk goes up considerably. Finally, seed selection is critical. durum), barley, oats and other small cerealAll graded seed in Canada is required to have a physical purity grading grains and corn caused by Fusariumreport and germination test and any customer can request that informa-graminearum. It can also affect wild andtion before or after a purchase.tame grass species. However, the cropsAs the seed buyer you can make a Fusarium graminearum test a most affected are wheat, barley and corn.requirement of the purchase decision and if the seller does not want to FHB affects kernel development, reducingprovide one then take your business elsewhereits your choice!yield and grade. It can also contaminate grain with a fungal toxin called deox- What about resistant varieties?ynivalenol (DON), produced in infectedF. graminearum is a very difficult disease to breed resistance for so its seeds. Infection of the harvested grainbeen incremental improvements over the years, not big leaps. The variety and/or mycotoxin production negativelymust be tailored to your location, environment and farming practices. affects: livestock feed When it comes to seed testing reports, is FDK the same as Fusarium gra- baking and milling quality of wheat minearum? biofuel (ethanol) production Definitely not. FDK means Fusarium Damaged Kernels and is a visualmalting and brewing qualities of maltgrading criterion of the Canadian Grain Commission for wheat and barley durum. Fg is the leading cause of FDK but not the only cause of FDK. Seed can grade 0 FDK but still show Fg as its a DNA test. A positive Fg test does not mean youll get FDK if you use the seed either, but Id avoid it if youre in an area of currently low or no detection of Fg.Is there a stigma attached to fusarium?For sure. Dont be afraid to talk about it and come up with a plan that works for you. People often think it means youre a bad farmer. It has nothing to do with that. If youre hot and humid for a long period of timethat means six weeks of hot humid weatheryou can still have it in your field.42GERMINATION.CANOVEMBER 2020'