Diseases of Oilseed Crops - Safflower

Alternaria Leaf Spot | Sclerotinia Head Rot | Rust

Alternaria Leaf Spot
Alternaria carthami

What to look for?
Shows up as brown lesions on leaves with concentric rings in wet seasons. All parts are infected including flowers and seeds. Downgrades seed quality.

Photo: Zimmer

Picture description
Brown concentric rings (target spots) on leaves and flowers.

Management strategy
Control by clean seed sources, crop rotation and avoidance of heavy seeding rates.

Sclerotinia Head Rot
Sclerotinia sclerotiorum

What to look for?
Heavy infection levels occur when prolonged humid conditions are present at flowering.

Photo: Huang	Picture description	Photo: Zimmer	Picture description Crop losses are major when sclerotinia sclerotes replace the entire seed heads.
Photo: Huang	Picture description

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Management strategy
Control with resistant cultivars, crop rotation and an avoidance of crops such as sunflowers, canola and beans in the crop rotation that are susceptible to this same fungus.

Rust
Puccinia carthami

What to look for?
Rust is very common on this crop but it usually shows up much too late in the season to cause much yield loss. The disease is seed- and residue-borne and all rust stages occur in the safflower crop.

Photo: Huang

Picture description
Heavily rusted plants.

Photo: Evans

Picture description
Rusted leaves showing orange/brown ustules.

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Management strategy
None at present.

Photographs and information assembled and prepared for ARD by Dr. Ieaun R. Evans Agri-Trend Agrology Ltd.

Other Documents in the Series

Diseases of Oilseed Crops - Canola
Diseases of Oilseed Crops - Flax
Diseases of Oilseed Crops - Safflower - Current Document
Diseases of Oilseed Crops - Sunflower

For more information about the content of this document, contact Ron Howard.
This document is maintained by Shelley Barkley.
This information published to the web on November 25, 2003.
Last Reviewed/Revised on March 18, 2008.