• Around mid-June through flowering, look for apothecia (golf-tee shaped mushroom structures) under the canopy. Ascospores are shot in the air from apothecia, and once in the air they move on wind currents locally and to adjacent fields. Ascospores are what infect canola plants to cause sclerotinia infections.
• Weather: cool, moist, humid periods increase risk. If when walking through your canola field late-morning or early-afternoon and the plants are still wet, risk is elevated.
• Risk also increases with these factors:
  • Number of sclerotinia susceptible crops planted in past 3-4 years of rotation
  • Density of canopy; healthy vigorous crops have higher risk
  • Previous sclerotinia disease incidence, either in canola or other host crops

Scouting for sclerotinia symptoms on plants begins at the end of flowering and continues through harvest timing. A couple of weeks after initial sclerotinia infection, watery lesions or light brown discoloration can be seen on leaves, stems and branches. These lesions expand and cause canola stems to ‘bleach’, taking on a whitish appearance, a major characteristic of sclerotinia infections in canola.

When the bleached stems are split open later in the season, sclerotia can often be found. Sclerotia are the hard, dark resting bodies of sclerotinia that overwinter in the soil.

Please refer to the BASF Crop Protection Product Storage Guidelines.

Nexicor^® fungicide should be applied at the 2 to 6 leaf stage to protect the plant from blackleg infection and provide Plant Health Benefits¹.

Lance^® and Cotegra^® fungicides should be applied at the 20-50% flowering stage to protect the plant from sclerotinia infection.

_{¹Plant Health Benefits refer to products that contain the active ingredient pyraclostrobin.}

Tank clean-out recommendations can be found on product labels.

Nexicor fungicide provides high-level control of blackleg in canola and contains three active ingredients, including Groups 3, 7 and 11. Nexicor builds on proven Plant Health Benefits¹ to increase growth efficiency and help better manage minor stress, leading to greater yield potential². It should be applied at the 2 to 6 leaf stage of canola.

Cotegra fungicide contains prothioconazole and boscalid, two leading active ingredients, and is the standard for sclerotinia management.

Lance fungicide contains boscalid, a Group 7 active ingredient and provides proven and consistent yield protection from sclerotinia and alternaria black spot. Both Lance and Cotegra can be applied at the 20-50% flowering stage.

_{¹ Plant Health Benefits refer to products that contain the active ingredient pyraclostrobin.}

_{² All comparisons are to untreated, unless otherwise stated.}

• For ground applications with Cotegra, Lance or Nexicor fungicides, the minimum water volume is 10 gal/ac (100 L/ha). Higher water volumes are recommended for optimal coverage.
• For aerial applications, the recommended water volume for all BASF canola fungicides is 50 L/ha (5 gal/ac).

Ideal applications are moderate temperatures (lower than 28^oC) and low wind. Avoid application when rain is forecasted within 3 hours of application.

Restrictions/conditions for Cotegra fungicide application in canola:

1. DO NOT apply during periods of dead calm.
2. Avoid application of this product when winds are gusty.
3. For aerial application, DO NOT apply when wind speed is greater than 16 km/hour at flying height at the site of application.
4. DO NOT apply with spray droplets smaller than the American Society of Agricultural Engineers (ASAE) medium classification. For ground application, boom height must be 60 cm or less above the crop or ground.
5. For aerial application, to reduce drift caused by turbulent wingtip vortices, the nozzle distribution along the spray boom length MUST NOT exceed 65% of the wing- or rotor-span.

Cotegra fungicide is most effective when applied at the recommended 20-30% flowering stage. That said, late flowering applications can still provide value. Per label guidelines, Cotegra applications are allowed on canola from 20% flowering up until full bloom.

• If you're using Nexicor fungicide, you should spray between the 2-leaf and 6-leaf stage.
• For Cotegra and Lance fungicides, you should spray between 20-50% flowering.