The canola pods are almost done filling, if not at full maturity, in many areas of the prairies, and harvest is beginning. We often think of scouting as something we have to do earlier in the season when there are still control options, but don’t always remember the importance of knowing what’s going on in… Read more »
Category: Canola Disease, Weeds & Insects
Canola School: Weather aids arrival of diamondback moths
Numbers of diamondback moths have increased in Western Canada over the past couple of weeks, in part due to the dry weather and strong winds. In some areas where the canola is still in late bloom, they are causing a fair amount of damage. Héctor Cárcamo, entomologist with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, says the key to… Read more »
Canola School: Following the smooth side — a tip for assessing maturity
When it comes to assessing canola maturity at this time of eyar, it can be tricky to see what’s what, especially when it comes to a thick canola crop. In this Canola School episode, Keith Gabert, agronomy specialist with the Canola Council of Canada, shares a tip for finding the main stem — a trick… Read more »
Canola School: Making the call on when to spray for sclerotinia
When you see the stem rot in the field, it’s too late. And that’s just one of the reasons why managing sclerotinia is a challenge, as exerienced in 2016, a severe year for the disease in canola fields in Western Canada. In this Canola School episode, we talk to Michael Harding, plant pathologist with Alberta… Read more »
Canola School: Sweep net monitoring for aster leafhoppers
Aster yellows is a ‘phytoplasma’ disease carried by aster leafhoppers. It’s known for the odd-shaped canola pods it causes later in the growing season. Problems with aster yellows are hit and miss, depending on your area and the year. “We are kind of waiting for the next leafhopper infestation with aster yellows, the next big… Read more »
Canola School: The trouble with flea beetles…
Less than ideal conditions have slowed down canola development and left the crop vulnerable to tiny 2.5 millimetre beetles in some areas this spring. Flea beetles are the number one pest in canola on the Western Canadian Prairies. In this Canola School episode, we talk with Tyler Wist, entomologist with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada in Saskatoon, about how… Read more »
Canola School: Be on alert for cutworm and wireworm
With the cooler soil temperatures we’ve been seeing across Western Canada, unwanted pests are beginning to show up in some fields. Alberta Agriculture and Forestry Insect Management Specialist Scott Meers says that early on in the season we should be keeping our eyes out for stand establishment insects such as cutworms and wireworms. There have been a… Read more »
Canola School: Blackleg Resistance Gene Labels On the Way
Canola seed in Canada could soon come with a label describing the variety’s blackleg disease resistance package, similar to the labeling system used in Australia. After around four years of discussions between seed companies, researchers, and growers, an agreement-in-principle has been reached on blackleg resistance labeling, says Clint Jurke, agronomy director with the Canola Council of Canada,… Read more »
Canola School: Breeding Better Blackleg Resistance
Seed companies are turning to new sources of resistance to protect canola against blackleg disease, as the pathogen population in Western Canada has adapted over the years. Until recently, most of the varieties marketed as “blackleg resistant” relied on what’s known as the Rlm3 gene, explains Sakaria Liban, pathologist with DL Seeds, in this episode of… Read more »
Canola School: 13 New Strains Serve as Warnings About Clubroot Resistance
The clubroot story in Western Canada continues to be written as researchers are finding additional strains of the pathogen that are capable of overcoming genetic resistance. So far, 13 new variants have been identified since the breakdown of resistance was first confirmed in 2013, explains Stephen Strelkov, plant pathology researcher at the University of Alberta. “We think resistance… Read more »
Canola School: Who is Pushing for Change in Global Markets?
There’s no long-term trend talk of any agriculture commodity sector, it seems, that doesn’t include at least some reference to China. After all, it’s not just a populous country, it’s a huge economic driver and consumer of Canadian agriculture products. Imagine, then, what it would mean to have the Chinese market closed, a market worth… Read more »
Canola School: How Seed Companies Determine Sclerotinia Ratings
Canola seed companies are releasing more varieties with claims they have reduced susceptibility to sclerotinia, but how do they determine those ratings? Coming off a season with high sclerotinia pressure, what does it mean if a variety is labelled as ‘partially resistant’? In 2011, the Western Canadian Canola/Rapeseed Recommending Committee started searching for a test that… Read more »
Canola School: Taking High Quality Diagnostic Photos
With a smartphone in their pocket, every farmer, farm employee, or agronomist is now also a photographer. The ability to share pictures from the field has dramatically improved how farmers and agronomists communicate and diagnose issues. However, the information gleaned from a cellphone photo can only be as good as the original picture. A poor photo won’t tell… Read more »
Canola School: The Rundown on Lygus Bugs and Cabbage Seedpod Weevils
While most canola producers in western Canada are still keeping an eye out for wireworms and cutworms, there are more reasons to scout on the horizon. Those reasons? Cabbage seedpod weevils and lygus bugs. For each species, there are a series of factors that might influence the susceptibility of a given canola crop to infestation…. Read more »
Canola School: Cutting Cleaver Populations with Cultural Control Practices
Herbicides are one tool for managing cleavers in canola, but there are many other “small hammers” in the toolbox as well. Seeding rates, row spacing, control timing, and crop rotation all need to be considered, explains Ian Epp, agronomy specialist with the Canola Council of Canada, in this episode of Canola School. “We can add a… Read more »