Banff (Rural Roots Canada) – In this spotlight on research, we look at University of Alberta Master’s Student Sydney Wong’s research into Tanspot – a fungal disease that primarily affects wheat.

“Specifically, I’m looking for chemical and genetic resistance, and hopefully using the information found to inform farmers about the types of management methods they should be applying,” says Wong.

Wong is picking up research that was last published in 2013.

“It’s been over a decade since any type of research regarding chemical resistance against tanspot has been done. So my research hopes to follow up on it while looking at genetic research.”

“It’s a living fungal disease, and it’s constantly evolving. So research really needs to be vigilant and keep up with the times in order to make sure that we’re providing useful and informative management methods against it.”

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Wong says producers should remain vigilant.

“If you see signs or symptoms of disease, definitely look into the management that you need to apply in order to reduce the severity as much as you can in order to save your fields.”

Wong presented her research during the Prairie Cereals Summit in December.