Abstract
A chickpea health issue was first noted in July 2019 in southwest Saskatchewan, Canada. Surveys of commercial chickpea fields were undertaken in 2021, 2022 and 2023 to investigate the potential roles of herbicides, fungicides, fertilizer, seed treatments, inoculants, nutrients, nematodes, drought stress, and chickpea cultivars on severity of plant damage. Fields to which herbicide containing the active ingredient metribuzin had been applied had more severe symptoms compared to fields to which it had not. Seed treatment with Apron Advance (active ingredients thiabendazole, fludioxinil, metalaxyl) was associated with more severe symptoms than treatment with Vibrance Maxx (sedaxane, fludioxonil, metalaxyl). No effects of rhizobial inoculation of chickpea seed was observed. Fields in which lentil or canola preceded chickpea had higher severity of above-ground plant damage compared to fields in which chickpea followed barley or durum. No significant correlation was found between severity of plant damage and concentrations of nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and chloride in plant tissues. A significant negative correlation (P<0.05) was found between potassium (K) concentration and severity, especially in 2023. There was a significant positive correlation (P<0.05) between severity of plant damage and the amount of P fertilizer applied. Plant ectoparasitic nematodes Paratylenchus and Helicotylenchus species were detected. Paratylenchus species abundance was very high in some fields. Although no clear diagnosis of the causal agent(s) of plant damage was made, crop rotation, metribuzin herbicide application, seed treatments, plant K concentrations, P fertilization and co-occurrence of stressors may exacerbate the plant and foliar symptoms observed.
Published Version
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