The conditions have been right for diseases in Manitoba crops this spring.

Manitoba Agriculture plant pathologist Pratisara Bajracharya says most crop diseases will have gotten a kick start in development thanks to the moisture and temperatures that aren't too hot.

The latest disease report shows some soybean plants have been showing root rot symptoms, which Bajracharya says is important to watch out for, because the disease does well in the wet and cool soil conditions we've seen so far this year. However she says if producers detect root rot symptoms in their soybeans, there's not much they can do right now.

"A lot of the time, soybean seeds will have seed treatments on it, and seed treatments will take care of most of the root rot problems, but because some fields were seeded early, the effective seed treatment may have run out just because the seedlings have been underground for long enough," Bajracharya says, adding that it's still important to keep an eye out for the disease and monitor seedling mortality.

The report also indicates stripe rust has been found in low incidences in one Manitoba field near Gladstone, although more cases of the pathogen have popped up south of the U.S. border in North Dakota.

Bajracharya says it's possible for stripe rust to continue spreading to other fields in Manitoba, so it's important for producers to keep an eye out for it.

"The first thing they should do is scout their field to see if they have any yellow spores on the wheat fields, especially in the lower canopy," she says. "If they do find it, for winter wheat, it's getting closer to fungicide application time for fusarium head blight, so that application should help for stripe rust too."

The full insect and disease report is available on the Manitoba Agriculture website.