Scouting: The critical first 21 days

The seedling on the left has wirestem.

The week after seeding is a good time to verify seeding depth and to check seeds and seedlings for rots and blights. Disease damaged seed and seedlings die quickly, and may be gone within a few days, which is why this timing is important to an accurate diagnosis.

cold soils mean slow emergence

How to weather-proof canola

Crop yield has a lot to do with weather — rainfall, temperature, frost and hail are the biggies. Agronomic steps to reduce weather related risk can go a long way to help canola achieve higher yields under stress.

Clean used equipment from clubroot areas

Soil is more likely to cling to wheels, openers and frames when conditions are wet.

Make sure soil is cleaned off any used equipment recently purchased from areas known to have clubroot. This is good biosecurity practice. Ideally, this should be done at the purchase location before bringing it home.

Seed decisions: Economics of a CR variety

CR varieties deployed now to keep clubroot levels low is part of a long-term management approach to keep clubroot from ever reaching yield-damaging levels. CR varieties are recommended if growers are in communities where or near where clubroot is known to exist AND they….

Verticillium stripe in canola

V. stripe closeup on canola stem. Credit: Department of Crop Sciences, Plant Pathology and Plant Protection Section (von Tiedemann Lab), University of Goettingen, Germany

Verticillium wilt of canola has been renamed verticillium stripe. Why? The pathogen in question, Verticillium longisporum, does not appear to produce wilt symptoms in canola, so the “wilt” name used to describe the potato and sunflower disease caused by the related fungus V. dahliae infection does not apply. Photo credit: Department of Crop Sciences, Plant Pathology and Plant Protection Section (von Tiedemann Lab), University of Goettingen, Germany

Clubroot: Put a firebreak around your farm

Think of clubroot like a grass fire. The best way to contain the spread of clubroot is to work diligently outside the hot zone using whatever tools available to keep the “fire” from spreading to your farm. Seeding clubroot-resistant (CR) varieties is a good early action.

Clubroot and variety selection

At least 10 new pathotypes have been discovered in fields in central Alberta. While varieties with improved resistance to 5x may provide a benefit, this resistance may not work on all new pathotypes. Infection from the other virulent pathotypes could still occur.