Canola blackleg risk forecasts
DPIRD's blackleg spore maturity forecasts for Western Australia for the 2022 growing season have begun, and forecasts are available online. The latest forecast is current to 5 April 2022.
The forecasts show the expected risk during the 4-6 leaf stage, relative to the date of sowing. For crops sown in the late March to early April period, the risk of blackleg spore showers coinciding with the seedling susceptible stage are high for some areas in the Great Southern and south coast cropping areas. Growers in these areas should consider using the BlacklegCM decision support tool to determine if they should apply a foliar fungicide to their canola crops during the susceptible 4-6 leaf stage. BlacklegCM is available for download from the Apple App and Google Play stores. This app currently only works on tablets and is not available for phones. For more information refer to DPIRD’s Blackleg CM page.
For more information, refer to DPIRD’s Canola blackleg spore maturity forecast for Western Australia page to check the blackleg model forecast for your district.
For more information about blackleg in canola contact Research scientist Andrea Hills, Esperance on +61 (0)8 9083 1144 or Senior research scientist Ravjit Khangura, South Perth on +61 (0)8 9368 3374.
For more information about the blackleg risk forecast, or the BlacklegCM decision support tool, contact Senior research scientist Jean Galloway, Northam on +61 (0)8 9690 2172 or Senior research scientist, Adam Sparks, Perth on +61 (0)8 9368 3689.
Article authors: Janette Pratt (DPIRD Moora), Jean Galloway (DPIRD Northam) and Adam Sparks (DPIRD Perth).