Start thinking solutions for cereal seed- and soil-borne disease

We already know a lot about the impact of leaf diseases and head diseases. But when you harvest a cereal crop that’s been infected on the seed, it then becomes a source of seed-borne disease next season. In fact, we’re seeing more seed- and soil-borne disease now than ever before.

That’s because today’s continuous cropping – and, in some cases, short crop rotations –means there’s more crop residue left in the field from previous seasons as a source of inoculum, which increases your disease risk.

Where growers typically used cereal seed treatments to protect against smuts and bunts, recent disease surveys are showing a broader range of important seed- and soil- borne pathogens that might not have been as common in the past.

Two major examples are seed-borne Fusarium, which causes head blight, and soil- borne Rhizoctonia that can impact your next canola crop. Other important diseases include common root rot – which can be both seed- and soil-borne and negatively affect germination – as well as Septoria on both wheat and barley.

Seed tests and treatments are key to better stands
Even though seed- and soil-borne disease infection rates are growing, there are solutions that can help. Start first with getting your seed tested.

Before seeding, you need to know what diseases you have on your seed, and how they can impact your stand. Send samples of your seed to an accredited lab to check for germination and vigor. You can also find out if there’s been any other major issues, like frost damage, heating in the bin or mechanical damage.

If you’re planning to use a seed lot that can’t be easily replaced, be sure to look at a quality seed treatment. Start by getting an idea of what your seed treatment can do in terms of improving germination and vigour – and then select the right seed treatment to address your biggest disease concerns.

Remember – even if you’re seed has low levels of diseases, it’s still very important to protect your seed investment from soil-borne disease. Growing conditions will influence disease pressures you may have in the field at seeding or emergence, so consider a seed treatment with a comprehensive disease spectrum on the label.

Keep your cereals standing strong with broad-spectrum disease control
Vibrance® Quattro seed treatment from Syngenta brings together four fungicides to give you the best, broad-spectrum disease control for your cereals, including excellent protection against Fusarium and Rhizoctonia.

Having broad-spectrum diseases control on your side gives your seed the best chance to germinate – and helps improve plant health and vigour. These factors together set the stage for better yields.

Vibrance Quattro is also built specifically for growers on the Canadian Prairies, with a convenient, easy-to- apply all-in- one formulation that dries fast on the seed and provides good coverage under cool temperatures.