Field pea blackspot disease forecasts for WA are available online
DPIRD’s blackspot in field pea disease forecasts for Western Australia for the 2022 season can now be viewed online. The latest forecast is current to 2 May 2022.
Blackspot becomes established when spores of the fungi produced on old field pea stubble are carried into the new crop by wind after rain events. Infection may occur at any stage of plant growth.
For the majority of locations across WA, the blackspot risk is currently high or medium and DPIRD recommends that growers delay sowing in these areas until the blackspot risk reduces.
Field pea is a crop that does not suffer yield penalties for later sowing in May, so can be left until the end of the seeding program before sowing. For agronomic reasons it is not recommended that field pea is sown in any location in WA before the 10 May.
The blackspot risk is low at Gairdner, Jacup and Mount Barker. For Jacup areas it would be safe to commence sowing field pea after 10 May. For agronomic reasons sowing should be delayed at Gairdner until after the 18 May and at Mount Barker until after the 25 May.
To view the latest forecast, refer to DPIRD's Field pea blackspot management guide for Western Australia - 2 May 2022.
For more information on blackspot, refer to the department’s Diagnosing blackspot in field peas webpage.
Blackspot Manager is a model that predicts the maturity and release of spores using weather data from the nearest weather station. Advice is given on when it is safe to sow field pea.
To subscribe to the free blackspot SMS service, text 'blackspot', your name, and nearest weather station to +61 (0)475 959 932 or email Blackspot.Manager@dpird.wa.gov.au to subscribe to the direct email service.
For more information on blackspot in field peas, or the forecasts, contact Research scientist Jean Galloway, Northam on +61 (0)475 959 932.
Article authors: Jean Galloway (DPIRD Northam) and Cindy Webster (DPIRD Narrogin).