Reading Time: 3 minutes This year was a head-scratcher for canola growers across the Prairies. “For a lot of our producers, it was a drought year, with a bumper crop and a wet harvest — those things shouldn’t go together,” said Keith Gabert, agronomist with the Canola Council of Canada. This year looked like it would be a wreck […] Read more
Cinderella story: Canola crushes yield expectations despite rocky start
Whatever the reason for the surprisingly good yields, growers urged to stick to recommended practices this spring
Producers needed for blackleg survey
Reading Time: < 1 minute The Smoky Applied Research and Demonstration Association is conducting a blackleg survey and asking producers to collect samples while scouting canola fields. Virulent blackleg of canola is a fungal canker or dry rot disease that causes stem girdling and lodging. In heavily infested crops, up to 100 per cent of the stems may be infected, […] Read more
Canola program stacks genes against new clubroot
Rather than send out a canola variety with a single source of resistance against clubroot — especially the disease’s most recent pathotype — Agrium’s CPS division has stacked several sources into the new hybrids it’s sending for testing this summer. Crop Production Services on Monday announced its “next generation” of Argentine canola hybrids shows “high […] Read more
Crop pest and disease watch for 2015
Some of the usual suspects could be back this year, especially if you are pushing your rotations
Reading Time: 6 minutes The new growing season is underway, with a combination of old and new challenges and opportunities. Alberta Farmer reporter Alexis Kienlen asked some experts about things that producers should look out for this growing season. Here’s what they had to say: Plant diseases It’s difficult for plant pathologists to predict the possibility of diseases, said Kelly […] Read more
Tight rotations may not harm canola yields — but soil health suffers
A long-term study on diversity in rotations produced some surprises, but the benefits were also clear
Reading Time: 3 minutes Brian Beres wasn’t surprised to find more diverse rotations increase cereal grain yields, improve soil health, and increase microbial biomass. What surprised him was how canola fared under tight rotations. Quite well, as a matter of fact. “It was surprising to see that canola didn’t respond to diversity if you looked at crop response variables […] Read more
Trouble looming if there’s another cool, wet spring
Four to Watch: Increasing disease levels over the last few years could lead to big-time outbreaks if the environmental conditions are right
Reading Time: 3 minutes This much is known. “We’re not going to have a disease-free year — that’s for sure,” said Michael Harding, a research scientist with Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development. “The environment will determine how much we see and which pathogens have the ability to cause the most serious issues.” And just what kind of environment — […] Read more
Guenther: Wanted for science: Southern Alberta canola fields
Reward: Better industry-wide strategies for managing blackleg
Reading Time: 2 minutes Dr. Dilantha Fernando, a University of Manitoba researcher, is leading a group of researchers who intend to pinpoint avirulence genes in blackleg found in farmers’ fields. Researchers with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada and Alberta Innovates – Technology Futures are also involved. Researchers will also study how the fungus adapts to different canola cultivars and how […] Read more
Plant diseases to look for in 2014
Provincial officials say the story for 2013 was of extremely localized disease outbreaks and the one for this coming year could be the arrival of new threats
Reading Time: 4 minutes Last year underscored the need for timely scouting for crop diseases. “Disease patterns matched the weather,” provincial pathology researcher Mike Harding said at last month’s 2014 Irrigation Update conference. “Different conditions led to serious disease issues in one area and virtually none just 20 miles away.” For example, cereal leaf spot diseases were widespread especially […] Read more
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