Brief history of fusarium head blight in western Canada

1884

The disease was first described in England, where it was called wheat scab.

FHB in the eastern Prairies

1900

F. graminearum scab was identified in Minnesota.

1915

Scab was common enough on wheat in Minnesota to cause concern. F. graminearum had already been a problem for several years on corn in Minnesota and North Dakota.

1923

Different varieties of wheat in Minnesota displayed different responses to FHB - the disease had become more prevalent with the general adoption of Marquis wheat (MacInnes and Fogelman).

1923

F. graminearum was reported on corn stubble in Manitoba (Bisby and Bailey).

1932

Of 776 Fusarium isolates collected in Manitoba, none were F. graminearum (Gordon 1933).

1937-1942

F. graminearum was isolated from 11 of 3094 Manitoba cereal samples (0.3 percent of the samples) (Gordon).

1939-1943

F. graminearum was described as rarely isolated from cereal seeds produced in western Canada.

1944

FHB, called scab, already common in southern Minnesota and North Dakota, was found to have spread farther north and west (Tervet).

1946

F. graminearum was not detected in Manitoba soil samples (Gordon).

1948

In Winnipeg, F. graminearum was isolated from one out of six wheat heads with symptoms of FHB (Gordon et al).

1984

F. graminearum heavily infected a sample of Coulter amber durum and Sinton red spring wheat from the Red River Valley of southern Manitoba (Clear and Abramson).

1985

The first Canadian Grain Commission survey for fusarium-damaged kernels (FDK) found F. graminearum in 30 wheat samples, primarily from the Red River Valley (Abramson et al). Canada Western Amber Durum (CWAD) and Canada Prairie Spring (CPS) wheats were more affected than Canadian Western Red Spring.

1986

F. graminearum was detected in 71 Manitoba wheat samples containing FDK. The situation worsened in the Red River Valley (Clear and Patrick). CWAD and CPS wheats were more affected than Canada Western Red Spring (CWRS).

1987

Although F. graminearum was widespread in Manitoba, F. avenaceum was the most common species in samples with FHB. However, both types were found only in CWAD. F. graminearum was not found in the 14 CWAD samples with FDK from Saskatchewan (Clear and Patrick).

1991

High levels of FDK were found in some samples of CWRS wheat. Most of the damaged wheat was of the variety Roblin, which was 21.9 percent of bread wheat acreage in Manitoba in 1991.

1993

Record rainfall across the prairies was associated with record high infection levels of F. graminearum in Manitoba. Disease levels were greatest in southeastern Manitoba. Nearly half the bread wheat acreage in Manitoba had been planted to Roblin, a variety very susceptible to FHB. High levels of infection were found in barley. Disease was also reported in oats. F. graminearum was found in a few CWAD samples from southeastern Saskatchewan.

1994

FHB was still located primarily in the Red River Valley, but was less severe than in 1993. Trace levels of FHB were found in all Saskatchewan crop districts bordering Manitoba.

1995

Spotty rains in Manitoba during flowering resulted in some intense localised infections. Reports of fields (at the same growth stage) only a few kilometres apart with widely different levels of infection and DON were common.

1996

This was the third worst year for FHB in Manitoba. Southwestern Manitoba was one of the areas of highest infection. Testing carried out by the Grain Research Laboratory showed F. graminearum to be more common in samples from Saskatchewan this year than in previous years, especially from locations along the Manitoba-Saskatchewan border. With the exception of two samples (one from Oxbow, one from Carrot River), the levels of infection were very low, but more Saskatchewan samples were found to contain a detectable level of infection than had been found in previous surveys. FHB caused by F. culmorum was also more common in Saskatchewan wheat this year than in previous years. F. culmorum is a much less common, but still potent, DON producer.

1997

Levels of FHB in Manitoba were very similar to those of 1996, with the southwest once again being one of the hardest hit areas and the northwest the least affected. In Saskatchewan, for the first time, F. graminearum was the most common cause of FDK. This shift was mostly due to an increased incidence of F. graminearum in the eastern part of Saskatchewan, especially the southeast. Levels of FHB outside of Manitoba continue to be very low.

1998

In Manitoba, FHB was once again a problem, with overall severity and incidence similar to those of 1997. As in 1997, southwest and south-central Manitoba were the hardest hit areas. Northern parts were much less affected. Due to plentiful rain in June, winter wheat in Manitoba had high levels of FHB for the first time. In previous years, this crop had escaped the disease. In Saskatchewan, favourable disease weather, combined with a build-up of F. graminearum inoculum over the last few years, resulted in a dramatic rise in the incidence and severity of FHB in the southeast. For the first time, FHB was an important disease in this area. Since 1993, we have found an increasing incidence of F. graminearum in that area. This year marks the first time that F. graminearum was of economic importance in any area of the Canadian prairies outside of Manitoba.

1999

Levels of FHB were lower than in 1998. Excessive spring precipitation in southwestern Manitoba and southeastern Saskatchewan resulted in many fields being left unseeded. A wide range of heading times occurred across the eastern prairies due to seeding delays in some areas. There were pockets in eastern Saskatchewan and Manitoba with high disease levels, but overall FHB levels were down from 1998

2000

Losses to FHB were the highest to date as a result of a combination of elevated disease levels and a greater affected area. Especially hard hit were the south-central crop districts of Manitoba. Highest disease levels in Saskatchewan were in the southeast.

2001

Once again ideal disease weather in Manitoba and southeastern Saskatchewan resulted in high levels of FDK. Especially hard hit were areas around Winnipeg, Levels in southeast Saskatchewan were the highest yet for that area, However, very dry conditions outside the southeast corner resulted in less FDK in those areas than in recent years.

2002

Incidence of FDK in Manitoba and eastern Saskatchewan was higher than last year, but the severity was down. F. graminearum was once again the major cause of FDK in the wheat.

2003

Dry growing conditions across the prairies resulted in FDK levels that were lower than they have been in this area since about 1992.

2004

Moisture in the eastern prairies was adequate over the growing season but unusually cool temperatures appeared to suppress the disease. Although a few fields were severely affected, overall FDK levels were just above those of 2003.

2005

Heavy rains and local flooding in May and June resulted in many Manitoba fields being drowned or unseeded. The June rains also resulted in the highest incidence of FHB in red winter wheat yet reported in western Canada. Spring wheats that were harvested frequently contained FDK, which was the primary degrading factor in Manitoba wheat in 2005.

2006

Although there was some spring flooding in the Red River Valley of Manitoba, the growing season was characterized as hot and dry. Levels of FHB in western Canada were lower than they have been in over a decade.

2007

Wet weather early in the summer resulted in higher FDK levels in the Manitoba winter wheat than usual, but drier weather for the flowering of spring cereals resulted in low disease levels in those crops.

2008

Wet weather in much of Manitoba in 2008 resulted in elevated levels of FDK in both winter and spring wheats. Flooding occurred in some northern agricultural areas of Manitoba, and this caused very high rates of FHB. Approximately 50% of the wheat grown in Manitoba in 2008 was degraded due to FDK. Levels in eastern Saskatchewan were much lower, but some downgrading of wheat occurred as well.

2009

A cool summer, with monthly temperatures averaging 2 to 3 degrees below normal, did not prevent high FDK levels in areas such as eastern Manitoba where precipitation was abundant. In western Manitoba and in eastern Saskatchewan, low levels of precipitation resulted in little FDK in the wheat.

FHB in the western Prairies

1984, 1987, 1989-1993

Fusarium head blight caused by F. culmorum was found in irrigated Soft White Spring wheat (SWS) in southern Alberta. Beginning in 1989, we began to detect a few kernels of SWS infected by F. graminearum

1994

F. graminearum was found at a high level in a CPS wheat sample from west-central Alberta.

1995

FHB was found only in trace amounts in the irrigated areas of southern Alberta.

1996

F. graminearum and F. culmorum were detected once again in the irrigated areas of southern Alberta, but at relatively low levels. As in other years, F. culmorum and F. avenaceum were also detected in Alberta samples from a few other areas. A few wheat seeds infected by F. graminearum were detected around Edmonton, Alberta, and in northwestern Saskatchewan. Many reports of over-wintered grain containing pink and red kernels were received from northern Saskatchewan and Alberta during the spring of 1997. The species responsible for this discolouration in all samples submitted for testing was F. avenaceum. DON was not detected in these samples (detection limit of 0.5ppm).

1997

F. graminearum continued to be a rare species in Alberta and western Saskatchewan. However, it was detected in a few more locations near Edmonton, and for the first time in the Peace River area of Alberta. It was once again detected at very low levels in seed from the irrigated areas of southern Alberta.

1998

In Alberta, levels of F. graminearum continue to be very low, although we did recover it from more locations and samples than in any previous year. In 1998 it was fairly common in the irrigated areas of southern Alberta, as was F. culmorum. This is likely due to the unusual occurrence for this area of abundant natural precipitation falling in June, giving ideal moisture conditions for FHB. In Alberta and western Saskatchewan, FHB is still a very minor disease, although F. graminearum infected a greater percentage of FDK than in previous years.

1999

Dry conditions in northern Alberta and unusually cool weather in central and southern Alberta did not appear to favour the development of FHB. Once again, very few samples with FDK were received from Alberta and western Saskatchewan, and only a small number of these were infected by F. graminearum.

2000

Suitable conditions for the production of FDK occurred over much of the dryland farming area of Alberta, resulting in an increased number of samples being detected with FDK. However, levels of FDK in the samples were almost always very low, and the causal species were primarily Septoria nodorum and F. avenaceum. F. graminearum was found in only a very few fields in Alberta and western Saskatchewan. A drought in southern Alberta resulted in very few FDK being produced in that area.

2001

A record drought affected much of the western prairies in 2001. In Alberta, 33 wheat samples with FDK caused by F. graminearum were found. Thirteen of these were from the Peace River area. Only a very few were from southern Alberta.

2002

Drought affected much of the northern part of the western prairies in 2002. However, unusually wet weather in the southern areas caused a considerable increase in the number of samples with FDK and the number of FDK in the samples. This was especially true in southwest Saskatchewan and southern Alberta where most of the affected samples were CWAD. Although the levels were usually low compared to the eastern prairies, they were much above what is normally encountered. In southern Alberta, 82 of the 191 samples with FDK had F. graminearum as one of the causal agents. F. graminearum and F. culmorum were the major causal agents of FDK in southern Alberta, but F. avenaceum and Septoria nodorum were much more important in southwestern Saskatchewan. Although unusually wet weather occurred in southern Alberta in both 1998 and 2002, F. graminearum FDK, as well as the level of FDK, were noticeably higher in 2002.

2003

The western prairies were little affected by FHB in 2003. Only a few samples from southern Alberta contained FDK. In those samples, F. culmorum was about twice as common as F. graminearum.

2004

Unusually cool growing conditions over much of the area and little history of the disease continued to keep FHB disease levels very low. Southern Alberta did see a rise in the number of samples affected by FDK. F. graminearum was present in 100 of 186 samples from southern Alberta with FDK and was the dominant FHB pathogen. Although CWAD was still the wheat class most often affected, more CWRS, SWS and Hard White Spring (HWS) were affected than we have seen before.

2005

FHB disease levels continue to be low in southern Alberta. In 2005, F. graminearum was found in 98 of the 190 wheat samples with FDK from CD’s 1 and 2 - a very similar number to 2004. Proportionally more SWS wheat samples (33/38) than CWAD (21/48) or CWRS (38/89) contained FDK infected by F. graminearum. Outside of southern Alberta, F. graminearum is rarely detected.

2006

In Alberta F. graminearum is primarily restricted to CD’s 1 and 2. Little FHB was detected in any western CD in 2006.

2007

In 2007, F. graminearum was the dominant species causing FDK in crop districts 1 and 2, infecting 14 of the 24 samples (334 of 493 FDK) from CD1 with FDK and 30 of 72 (284 of 990 ) from CD2. As usual, almost no F. graminearum were recovered outside of CD’s 1 and 2.

2008

In southern Alberta, F. graminearum infected most of the FDK collected. As usual, outside of this area, very few FDK were found.

2009

In southern Alberta, unusually wet weather at flowering resulted in a surprising amount of FHB in the wheat crop. Over 10% of the bread wheat and durum wheat was degraded due to the presence of FDK over the tolerance levels. These kernels were infected primarily by F. graminearum and F. culmorum. Outside of southern Alberta, very few FDK were reported.