Saskatchewan canola growers have been placed on alert following the discovery of another clubroot positive field.
“We are advised by the Saskatchewan Ministry of Agriculture that one new field in the west-central region of the province has been confirmed to have clubroot disease,” SaskCanola vice-chair Franck Groeneweg said in a news release issued today.
The infected field was discovered during the annual survey of soil samples from 91 Saskatchewan fields that grew canola in 2012.
The pathogen was first discovered in the same area of the province in soil samples taken in 2008.
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The first appearance of the disease in actual plants occurred in 2011 in two fields in north-central Saskatchewan.
Groeneweg encouraged farmers to follow clubroot disease prevention practices during the new growing season to protect a crop that contributed $4.4 billion to Saskatchewan’s farm cash receipts last year.
“Canola is vital to producers’ profitability and the Saskatchewan economy,” he said.
“In order to protect this crop as a rotation mainstay, we as growers must engage in best farming practices to help prevent the spread of this soil-borne disease. Growers are asked to reduce the spread of the disease by removing soil from equipment coming from infected fields.
They can also reduce the severity of the disease by scouting for root symptoms to catch it early and by using disease-resistant varieties, four-year rotations and effective weed management.
SaskCanola has contributed $1 million in check-off funding for clubroot research.
