There are a lot of bugs on the prairie landscape — most are beneficial, but the few harmful ones tend to get most of the attention. Sometimes it’s important to take a minute to find out who your friends are. There is a battle being waged in your fields, even if you can’t see it…. Read More
Category: Canola Disease, Weeds & Insects
When a field is confirmed infected with clubroot, it’s recommended that producers implement (or continue) strict sanitation protocols, crop rotations, and the responsible use of Plasmodiophora brassicae-resistant canola varieties. There may be further options, however, like the use of fumigants traditionally used in horticulture. “The first fumigant I look at is Vapam, and the Vapam is… Read More
With increasing cases of herbicide resistance, machines designed to destroy weed seeds at harvest could be a valuable tool. But like any technology that is not yet widely adopted, there are also some lessons to be learned and challenges to overcome, as researchers with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada confirmed last year. 2017 marked the first… Read More
Although it’s been proven that high pH soil will not stop the spread of clubroot disease, liming has been used as a tool to curb the disease in other parts of the world. Early results from a research project underway in Alberta show raising the pH of acidic fields with lime could potentially aid in… Read More
Seven years after swede midge was identified in Ontario, three adult midge were found in Saskatchewan, in 2007. It was then believed the insects were the same species (Contarinia nasturtii), but researchers have since discovered differences between the two. “We have now behavioural evidence — we know that what we thought was swede midge in… Read More
Researchers with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada at Saskatoon have developed a lab test for identifying blackleg disease races in canola that complements the new blackleg resistance-gene labels on canola seed. Knowing both factors — the blackleg races present in a field and the disease packages available in seed — will allow farmers to select varieties with resistance… Read More
You may notice some new information on canola seed bags this year — a label that lists what type of blackleg resistance the variety contains. We’ll spare you all the quirky names and numbers for the actual genetic resistance, but Dilantha Fernando, with the University of Manitoba, says farmers can use the alphabetical designation of… Read More
Switch to longer rotations, reduce soil movement, grow resistant varieties — the list of keys to managing against clubroot disease has become familiar for many canola growers in Western Canada, but an Alberta farmer with years of experience farming with high clubroot concentrations has another piece of advice: don’t be afraid to talk about it…. Read More
When we think of canola, we think Western Canada. And there’s no doubt that the prairies are the canola capital, but Meghan Moran, canola and edible bean specialist with the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, reminds us that there are still canola growers in Ontario, too. While the all-time high of 90,000… Read More
Researchers with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada are in the process of identifying and describing a tiny midge species that was first confirmed in canola fields in parts of Western Canada last year. It’s not swede midge, as was previously thought. This new species belongs to the same Contarinia genus, but is more robust, has hairier… Read More