Pioneer Hi-Bred says that it has plenty of its 45H29 clubroot-resistant canola seed available to plant canola in fields most at risk in 2010.
“We’re approaching 500 confirmed fields infested with clubroot, ranging from light to heavy clubroot infestations,” Murray Hartman, oilseed specialist with Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development, said in a Pioneer release. “That’s roughly 75,000 acres in the primary areas of infestation which include Leduc, Sturgeon and Parkland counties. And then you have the acres surrounding those fields that are most vulnerable to infestation. In total, these three counties have about 200,000 acres of canola planted each year.”
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A percentage of the farmers in the counties surrounding the main area of clubroot infestation will want to plant 45H29 as a safeguard, says Hartman. “If they’re close or adjacent to an infested field, it would be wise to plant a resistant hybrid. It can prevent the disease from becoming a bad infestation throughout the field.”
According to the Canola Council of Canada, it’s important to reduce the number of spores that start an infestation. The more spores that start an infestation, the more spores that will remain after the often recommended four-year rest period from canola in clubroot-infested fields.
“This hybrid is a good tool,” says Hartman. “Even if you’re not positive that you have clubroot in your fields it will help keep any light infestation at a low level. However, in order to prolong the usefulness of this resistance, growers with a control notice will not be allowed to grow the resistant hybrid on that field for three years after the last canola crop.”
