Bacterial Blight on Durum & Seed Decisions for 2023

If you grew durum on irrigation in 2022 you may have experienced bacterial blight. It has been around for a long time and comes and goes as a potential problem. It can show up in patches in fields and reduce yields. The very bottom of this email has a picture of it and a link to more info.
It's possible some varieties are more susceptible than others but it can be seed born, soil born, wind born. Until this time there was no seed test for it in Canada and even now it is not known exactly how best to test for it.  2020 Seed Labs does have a seed test now.
Our plan for Certified durum seed is to use dryland seed lots as well as send in for testing. There is no set methodology for testing but the thought is that at some level it is not a problem and above that threshold it poses a risk.
This could mean that more durum seed will be sold vs normal so talk to us sooner than later if you are an irrigated durum grower needing seed.
Link to a tweet from the PCDMN about bacterial blight in cereals. Click here to see the thread.