Protecting at-risk sunflower from Sclerotinia with desiccation
Overview
A sunflower producer contacted us with a question:
“Can I save my crop? My sunflower are beautiful, but there is Sclerotinia head rot in the field, and the weather forecast looks favourable for further disease development. If I spray with a herbicide registered for sunflower, can I limit the losses?”
This field-based management dilemma was translated into a structured research question around whether desiccation could play a role in limiting further disease impact under conducive epidemic conditions.
This project forms part of Kwanele Sabela’s MSc Agric research and investigates whether and when desiccation may be used to protect at-risk sunflower against Sclerotinia head rot. The work includes in vitro evaluation of diquat against Sclerotinia sclerotiorum as well as two seasons of multi-planting field trials to assess epidemiological, agronomic, and economic outcomes.
Key questions
- Does diquat have an inhibitory effect on Sclerotinia sclerotiorum in vitro?
- Will diquat “protect” the yield of at-risk sunflower infected with Sclerotinia?
- If yield can be “protected”, when is the critical time to spray for the intervention to remain economical?
- If herbicides are applied, are protein and oil quality and quantity affected?
- What does this look like for the farmers wallet?
Outputs
- Extension articles
Status
On-going, and Kwanele graduated with distinction.