Tough to say and even harder to control, aphanomyces has the potential to significantly reduce pea and lentil yields, and can stick around in the soil for an extremely long time.

It’s recommended that farmers not plant pea or lentil for five to six years if aphanomyces has been confirmed in a field, but that’s an unreasonably long time to break from pulses for most growers.

There are solid rotation options, says Sherrilyn Phelps, agronomy manager for Saskatchewan Pulse Growers, even within the pulses, as not all crops are equally susceptible to this particular root rot.

“But it’s more complex than that,” Phelps says in this Pulse School episode, because there are other root rot species of concern, such as fusarium, rhizoctonia, and pythium.

Which pulse crops can you grow after an aphanomyces problem? Phelps tackles that question, plus how water management and field selection are just as critical as crop rotation to managing for root rots:

Find more Pulse School videos here.