Understanding how resistant varieties build stronger cell walls in their roots is key to protecting canola from clubroot, says plant pathologist Gary Peng.

Building a stronger wall to keep out clubroot

New research finds resistant canola varieties are better at strengthening cell walls in their roots

Reading Time: 2 minutes Researchers want to build a better wall — at a cellular level — to thwart clubroot. Of the dozens of canola varieties, only eight have resistance to the fungus-like pathogen and all of them are now showing signs of losing resistance, said Gary Peng, a plant pathologist at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s research centre in Saskatoon. […] Read more

flowering canola field

Canola acres set to jump, but so will the risk of disease

Canola plantings are expected to increase by about one million acres, 
and that means more disease risk

Reading Time: 3 minutes Canola could top out at over 24 million acres in Canada this year — one million more acres than growers planted in 2017. “With the relative return right now, canola is looking better than wheat,” said Murray Hartman, oilseed specialist for Alberta Agriculture and Forestry. “If these kinds of price signals continue or strengthen in […] Read more


Tax credit for canola checkoffs

Tax credit for canola checkoffs

Reading Time: < 1 minute Alberta Canola is reminding its members that they can get a tax credit on a portion of the checkoffs they paid in 2017. The Scientific Research and Experimental Development tax credit allows canola growers to claim the portion of the checkoff used to fund qualifying research. “Farmers are funding research into finding solutions to agronomic […] Read more

Unauthorized land entry by hikers and ATV enthusiasts can spread disease and pests between farm fields.

Biosecurity on the radar for many crop growers

Clubroot sparks worry about outsiders — whether on ATVs or oilfield trucks — coming onto farms

Reading Time: 2 minutes Farm fields should be as biosecure as a big barn — and that means preventing trespassing and knowing who’s on your land, says a Saskatchewan farm leader. The spread of plant diseases — particularly clubroot — as well as weeds means farmers are paying more attention to the issue, said Norm Hall, vice-president of the […] Read more


canola field

Get the latest performance data on canola varieties

The results from the 2017 variety performance trials are now available on an online, searchable database

Reading Time: < 1 minute Canola Performance Trials results for 2017 are now available in an online searchable database at the Canola Performance Trials website. Canola growers can use this online tool to finalize seed decisions for the coming growing season. The performance trials compare leading canola varieties in small-plot and field-scale trials. Results can be filtered by province, season […] Read more

Workshops are being held across the region to arm farmers with best practices for combating the devastating canola disease.

Peace Country farmers told the time to halt clubroot is now

Workshops are being held across the region to arm farmers with best practices for combating the devastating canola disease

Reading Time: 2 minutes Clubroot was found in the Peace last summer — and that’s prompted an all-out effort to mobilize the farm community to do everything possible to halt the spread of the disease. Officials from the ag research group SARDA and local municipalities along with ag fieldmen are hosting workshops at seven different locations so producers can […] Read more


If you’re growing non-resistant canola varieties, you could wake up one day to find ‘astronomical’ levels of clubroot spores, says agronomist Dan Orchard.

Imagine you couldn’t grow canola, warns farm leader

Clubroot’s arrival in the Peace isn’t a shocker, but it’s another sign 
farmers are flirting with disaster, say canola experts

Reading Time: 5 minutes In the war between canola producers and clubroot, clubroot is winning. “The clubroot-infested area is spreading at roughly about 30 kilometres a year, and we’re only managing it at 20 kilometres a year,” said Dan Orchard, agronomy specialist for the Canola Council of Canada. “We got an appreciation this year for just how fast it […] Read more

(Alberta Farmer Express photo by Jennifer Blair)

Clubroot ‘heavily’ infests NW Saskatchewan field

Clubroot has made its presence known in the far northwest of Saskatchewan’s canola-growing region, with the discovery of a “heavily infested” field. SaskCanola on Monday reported the discovery of the disease in a field in crop district 9B, but didn’t give its specific location. District 9B is a group of 16 rural municipalities east of […] Read more


(Alberta Farmer Express photo by Jennifer Blair)

Clubroot climbs up into Peace region

One of Canada’s northernmost farming areas has picked up a case of a disease well known to canola growers further south. Alberta Canola on Wednesday announced the Peace region has reported a case of clubroot in canola, in Big Lakes County, which surrounds much of Lesser Slave Lake in the region’s southeast. The disease has […] Read more

Depending on moisture conditions this summer, sclerotinia could be an issue in canola, Keith Gabert says.

High moisture levels could drive up canola diseases across province

Sclerotinia can reduce canola yields by up to 50 per cent — but a well-timed fungicide application can prevent some of those losses

Reading Time: 4 minutes It may be a little bit early to guess, but canola agronomist Keith Gabert predicts that sclerotinia will be a problem in canola crops this summer. “We always assume that we’re going to have sclerotinia issues,” said the Canola Council of Canada agronomist. “Typically, sclerotinia germinates under good moisture conditions, so we’re making the assumption […] Read more