Blackleg can cause yield and quality losses, impact profitability and may create a market risk. To help manage this disease and maintain the effectiveness of genetic resistance, growers are encouraged to use an integrated blackleg management strategy, including pre-harvest scouting.
Symptoms of blackleg can appear throughout the growing season, but the optimal time to scout is just before swathing or around 60% seed colour change.
To effectively scout for blackleg, pull up at least 50 plants in a W-pattern through the field and clip at the bast of the stem to look for blackened tissue. You can compare any black discolouration you see in the cross section to the disease severity scale below. The scale rates plants from 0 (no discolouration) to 5 (completely discoloured) - each step on the rating scale indicates a reduction in yield.
Visit keepitclean.ca for scouting tips, videos, and other tools to assess disease severity and potential yield loss.
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