Farms.com Home   Ag Industry News

Protecting canola from sclerotinia

Protecting canola from sclerotinia

BASF’s Cotegra fungicide combines two active ingredients

By Diego Flammini
Staff Writer
Farms.com

A fungicide from BASF is helping canola growers retain yield by protecting crops from sclerotinia.

Cotegra, which combines prothioconazole and boscalid in a multiple mode-of-action premix, delivers high levels or protection, said Brent Galbraith, associate crop manager with BASF.

“We’re starting to see an increase in sclerotinia pressure in Western Canada based off of having tightened canola rotations as well as the introductions of certain dicot crops on more farms,” he told Farms.com.

“Based off of trials we see about a seven bushel per acre yield increase compared to untreated checks. And compared to some of our competitors we’re seeing about a two bushel per acre yield increase.”

Farmers can also apply Cotegra to soybeans to protect against Asian soybean rust, frog eye leaf spot and septoria brown spot. The fungicide also protects dry beans, lentils, field peas and chickpeas from white mould.

And with the product being pre-mixed, it makes for maximum usability.

As with several diseases, timely applications are key to giving fungicides the best opportunity to offer crop protection, Galbraith said.

“With the way sclerotinia works, by the time you see it in your field it’s already too late to control it,” he said. “You have to approach it from a preventative standpoint. We encourage farmers to apply Cotegra between the 20 and 50 per cent flowering stage, and we’ve seen the best results around the 30 per cent flowering stage.”

Applications for dry beans follow the same parameters as canola.

In chickpeas, field peas and lentils, growers should apply Cotegra at the beginning of the flowering stage or at the first sign of the disease.

And in soybeans, farmers may want to apply the fungicide prior to disease development, or between the late R1/R2 to R3 stage.

Sclerotinia/Canola Council of Canada photo


Trending Video

AgMatters Episode 3: Why Doing The Right Thing Matters

Video: AgMatters Episode 3: Why Doing The Right Thing Matters

we explore what it means to "do the right thing" in agriculture and how sustainability is shaping the industry. This episode features David McInnes, Former President & CEO of the Canadian Agri-Food Policy Institute, who shares insights into Canada's first Food Sustainability Index—a collaborative effort among over 140 partners to measure sustainability across environmental, economic, and societal dimensions. David highlights the importance of providing sustainable outcomes to stay competitive in global markets.

We also hear from Hailey Jefferies, President and Co-founder of Prairie Fava, as she discusses building a business around Manitoba-grown fava beans. Hailey shares how Prairie Fava is creating new markets for this high-protein, nitrogen-fixing crop while benefiting from Manitoba’s robust entrepreneurial network.