Episode 9

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Published on:

12th Jun 2025

Know Thy Enemy: Anthracnose and Stemphylium Blight of Lentil

Dr. Sabine Banniza is a professor of pulse crop pathology and a member of the Crop Development Centre (CDC) at the University of Saskatchewan. Her research program is focused on pulse crop pathology with particular emphasis on problems in Saskatchewan. The overarching theme of Dr. Banniza’s research program is to study the biology of fungal and bacterial pathogens and their interaction with host plants.

In today’s episode, Dr. Banniza focuses on two important diseases in lentil: Anthracnose and Stemphylium blight. She is an expert on the pathogen biology and plant-pathogen interactions, and she gives us a lot of useful background on when they first started appearing in Canada, how problematic they are, and how to diagnose and manage each of these. 



“ Using all of the molecular tools we have now, we’re trying to get that resistance from the wild relative into our cultivated species, and then breed race zero resistance as well. Because I think that will help a lot, and it’s really needed in particular now that we see these issues with fungicide insensitivity .” - Sabine Banniza, Ph.D.


This Week on Growing Pulse Crops:

  • Meet Sabine Banniza, Ph.D., professor of pulse crop pathology and a member of the Crop Development Centre (CDC) at the University of Saskatchewan.
  • Explore two important diseases in lentil: Anthracnose and Stemphylium blight.
  • Understand the pathogen biology and plant-pathogen interactions of these two lentil diseases
  • Discover useful background on when these diseases first started appearing in Canada, how problematic they are, and how to diagnose and manage each of them. 



Growing Pulse Crops is produced by Dr. Audrey Kalil and hosted by Tim Hammerich of the Future of Agriculture Podcast. 



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About the Podcast

Growing Pulse Crops
The science and business of farming field peas, chickpeas, and lentils
This show features the latest in research, agronomy, and economics of pulse crops (peas, chickpeas, lentils, etc.).

Demand for these nutrient-dense, high-protein foods continues to grow. There is also interest from farmers to include more pulses into diverse rotations for benefits like nitrogen fixation and soil health.

But the industry continues to face challenges, and we are eager to address these head on. So if you’re a pulse grower or in any way interested in these important crops, hit subscribe and stay tuned for future episodes. We’ll be back with plenty of information about challenges pulse farmers are facing throughout the U.S. and what solutions are working.

Brought to you by the Pulse Crops Working Group with support from the North Central IPM Center and USDA NIFA.

About your host

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Tim Hammerich

I share stories about agriculture, agtech, and agribusiness on podcasts and radio.