Recent reports from the Canola Council of Canada have shown the slow movement of clubroot into previously uninfected areas of Alberta. That information, while concerning, should not really come as a surprise to farmers in the province. Conditions have been optimal for the speed of clubroot in Alberta this year based on the very wet spring. Spring conditions were very wet from Edmonton south this year. Add to that the sea of canola acres across Alberta this year as record acres were planted and you have a perfect storm for the spread of a disease like clubroot.
Murray Hartman is the Oilseed Specialist with Alberta Agriculture and Rural Affairs based in Lacombe Alberta. I asked Murray about the spread of clubroot in Alberta and what producers can do to identify and deal with the disease if they have it.
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Thanks for helping getting the messages on clubroot out there Shaun.
For more help with scouting, identifying and sampling – there is a series of videos posted on our YouTube channel at http://youtube.com/albertacanola
No problem Rick. Management of this situation is very important for the industry and farmers.
Clubroot is definitely a problem that must be managed. I wanted to add as well the severe damage that many canola fields in the Cleardale alberta region experienced this past summer from Brown Girdling Rootrot. Following the heavy rainfalls experienced in July that dumped uo to 5 and 7 inches of rain in only two to three days, whole field of canola were lost over the following weeks to this disease. For growers in the Peace Region this disease continues to be devastating when conditions allow. Crop breeding, I believe is the only effective way to limit the damage on the heavier soils where this disease is prevalent. I have taken pictures showing the extreme damage done by this disease this past summer…..available on request….