Farmers across Alberta may have one more plant disease to worry about thanks to a proposed amendment to the Agricultural Pests Act through a private member’s bill, called Bill 201.
The amendment suggests a cereal fungal disease called fusarium head blight, or Fusarium graminearum (Fg), should no longer be seen as a pest.
The exact wording states: “…Fusarium head blight shall not be deemed to be a pest or nuisance unless it is found at a concentration of greater than 0.5 per cent in any plant, seed, crop, vegetation or other matter.”
How does Fusarium graminearum (Fg) affect cereal crops?
A quick Google search of Fg produces a Government of Alberta management plan on the disease. One issue states the disease can reduce yield and crop grade by producing damaged kernels. These damaged kernels may contain fungal toxins poisonous to humans and livestock over a certain level.
Estimated losses range from $50 million to $300 million annually for producers and Fg can now be found in portions of southern Alberta. In 1999 Fg was declared a pest to the act.
Bill 201 would allow seed producers to sell contaminated grains to areas not affected with the disease
Jay Byer, assistant director of agricultural services for the County of Stettler, says that while seed growers have conducted research on breeding resistant barley and wheat , the new breed will still have small amounts of Fg. “All that breeding has been happening in places where you walk down the street and you pick up Fg. It’s totally endemic.”
Under the current pest act, the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development can allow seed with contamination of Fg under 0.5 per cent to be planted in areas with heavy infestation, not in clean farmland, said Byer.
“So under the act, they can’t buy that seed, they can‘t use that seed because it’s contrary to the act and the Fg Management Plans,” said Byer.
His worry is farmers may not be fully informed on contaminated seed and they may infect their crops. Once Fg contaminated seed is planted, the entire field is affected.
“If there’s a thousand seeds with five seeds being contaminated…You might as well say the whole field is contaminated,” said Byer.
The disease has steadily increased in southern Alberta and Byer said agricultural pest controllers are working to slow the spread as much as possible. “Why ask for the problem?”
Separating contaminated seeds
Byer says there is a tool called a colour separator, which provides a limited option for farmers to remove contaminated seed but does not remove diseased spores. As there is no way to split diseased crops from clean crops, issues can arise for industries that use barley, including beer producers.
“If malt containing Fg is malted in your beer, we have gushing beer,” said Byer.
“Our malt industry is critically important here,” he added.
Byer suggests the malt industry has had a competitive advantage with Fg free barley but that is also at risk with this proposal.
If Bill 201 is passed, counties or municipal districts free of Fg would have to speak with the agricultural minister to deem the disease as a pest again.
Groups such as the Alberta Association of Municipal Districts and Counties, Agricultural Service Boards and the Association of Agricultural Fieldmen have all spoken against the proposal and Byer said letters have been drafted to state their case.
Lacombe-Ponoka MLA Rod Fox said he had heard little feedback on Bill 201 but said he wanted to hear from producers and farmers on their concerns. For those who may want to call MLA Fox, his Lacombe office number is (403) 782-7725.
The amendment was proposed by Barrhead-Morinville-Westlock MLA Maureen Kubinec and has passed first reading. The pest act is intended to be changed in 2016, which is 14 years old.
Facts about Fusarium graminearum (Fg)
The private member’s bill by an MLA from the governing Progressive Conservative party proposes to allow seeds with a small amount of the fungal disease Fusarium graminearum (Fg) — or fusarium head blight — to be used freely but agricultural pest controllers are advocating against it.
Here are some facts about the disease that affects wheat, barley, oats and corn:
• The disease was first reported in Canada in 1919 and again in the 1940s
• It has been present in Alberta since 1989 but in low levels
• Incidences of Fg have increased in southern Alberta in recent years
• Fg produces mycotoxins called deoxynivalenol (DON) and zearalenone, both of which affect the marketability of grain
• These mycotoxins can also affect farm animals if high levels are ingested
• Issues because of Fg have created losses estimated in the millions of dollars in Manitoba and eastern Saskatchewan
Best management practices
• Use healthy seed with no detectable levels of Fg
• Organic producers are recommended to test more than one random sample lot
• The continuous use of corn or short rotation cereals increases the risk of infection
• Grow varieties with the best level of resistance
Information for this article was gathered from the Government of Alberta website regarding Fg and a full list of information sources is available at: http://www1.agric.gov.ab.ca/.Search for: Fusarium graminearum Management Plan.