The Rural Voice, 1988-04, Page 531 ADVICE
PROTECT ALFALFA
FROM VERTICILLIUM
Verticillium wilt can reduce yield up
to 50 percent in severely infected alfalfa
▪ fields and greatly reduce the productive
life of a stand.
Tim Welbanks, agronomy services
manager for Pioneer Hi -Bred Limited,
says that accurate identification is a
problem in dealing with verticillium.
"It is difficult to look at a damaged
stand, especially an older one, and say
for certain that verticillium wilt is the
problem," he says. "You could be look-
ing at another wilt -like disease, herbi-
cide injury, leafhopper injury, or boron
deficiency."
The disease is most easily detected
on the regrowth after first cutting, Wel-
banks says. "The first evidence is the
appearance of yellow blotches, often V-
shaped, on lower leaves and new shoots.
The leaves eventually become bleached
and curl inward."
He adds that plants infected with
verticillium wilt will be stunted, but
even though they may be near death
stems will remain upright and green.
Verticillium is seldom found during
the seeding year, but by the second or
third year disease levels can be high.
"The disease will not be evident during
4 the first cut because infected plants will
not have survived the winter," Wel-
banks says. "In subsequent cuttings,
4 identification should be easy if verticil-
lium is present. If the alfalfa is not
plowed under by the fourth year, the
stand will winter -kill badly."
Verticillium likes high moisture,
high humidity, and cool temperatures
(about 18°C), and can survive in soil or
plant debris for several months, disap-
pearing in two to three years if there are
no alternate hosts such as Canada
thistle. Spores can be spread by wind,
harvesting equipment, or insects.
Welbanks advises farmers to:
1. Prevent the disease by using clean,
certified, verticillium -resistant seed.
2. Take prompt steps to eradicate the
disease by plowing down infected fields
and rotating to a crop such as corn.
3. Reduce spreading between farms.
Cut newer alfalfa stands before diseased
stands. Wash and disinfect cutting
equipment when moving from an in-
fected field to a clean field.0
4
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APRIL 1988 51