b'MustardAccording to Mitzel, the advantage to the grower is they canMustard has been shown to control a variety of soilborne leave the mustard in the ground as long as they want and theyrepests. These include verticillium rhizoctonia, fusarium, pythium, not going to get seed production. sclerotinia, common scab and range of nematodes. The use of It allows the farmer to have a little more flexibility; they dontmustard as a biofumigant has also shown a decrease in damage have to worry about working the mustard into the soil beforecaused by wireworms.it begins to seed. That can create a time crunch for them. ThisBut its not so simple as just planting mustard with potatoes and grants them a longer timeframe for that.reaping its biofumigant properties, Abbas and Frederick note. Theres also another benefit to the varietybecause its aMustard comes in many varieties but not all varieties are equally hybrid, it produces about 20 per cent more biomass than a non- as effective when it comes to the biofumigation process. Some hybrid mustard, Mitzel says.mustard varieties produce more glucosinolate levels compared So, you get about 20 per cent more biofumigation control outto others. Some varieties have been bred for the sole purpose of of it than you do out of a regular mustard variety, Mitzel says. biofumigation.At the MCDC, Abbas and Frederick tested four mustard varieties Harnessing the Power of Mustard including Caliente Rojo, AC Vulcan, Andante and AAC Brown 18.Mustard and most other plants from the brassica family produceCaliente Rojo is one of those varieties that is bred for chemicals called glucosinolates, explains Haider Abbas, appliedbiofumigation purposes. It grows quickly and is typically research specialist at the Manitoba Crop Diversification Centreused in spring or late summer. It contains very high levels of (MCDC). Abbas has worked extensively with Canada-Manitobaglucosinolates.Crop Diversification Centre researcher Zack Frederick on usingMustard is a very diverse species, as are glucosinolates, so we mustard as a biofumigant. have to ensure were comparing apples to apples across these When glucosinolates come in contact with water and enzymesdifferent mustards, Frederick says.contained in plant cells, they are transformed into another group of compounds called isothiocyanate. Its these isothiocyanatesChallenges Aheadthat give mustard its biofumigation power. Theoretically, with theEven if they find a good mustard species to use as a increase in biomass production glucosinolate levels, levels arebiofumigant, there are challenges for growers who decide to try also increased in a biofumigant crop. biofumigation. SPUDSMART.COM Spring 202323'