Virtual Canola Week by the Canola Council of Canada will focus on research and production December 1-3, 2020. Topics will include:
Register at: https://canolaweek2020.com/
What is clubroot?
Clubroot is a disease that affects the roots of plants from the botanical family of crucifer crops. This family includes broccoli, cabbage, canola, cauliflower, kale, radish, mustard, among others. It can also hit plants considered weeds, like Shepard’s purse and wild mustard. The causal organism requires a living plant to reproduce and complete its lifecycle; however, in the absence of a host, it can survive in soil as a cyst for many years. Cysts are resting spores that can germinate in the proximity of roots of host plants. Upon germination, “zoospores” emerging from cysts will swim towards root hairs and penetrate.
Interest in canola as a rotation crop in the cereal-dominated cropping systems of the Pacific Northwest continues to increase, particularly with depressed wheat prices, and with steady demand from the Pacific Coast Canola processing facility in Warden, Wash. The Crucifer Quarantine enacted last fall, however, has prompted many questions and requests for advice about blackleg from growers and industry. In response to concerns, faculty at the Washington State University-based Washington Oilseed Cropping Systems Project developed a handout to distribute at field tours. The guide includes concise information about the current status of blackleg in Washington, the Crucifer Quarantine requirements, scouting for blackleg, and photos of blackleg symptoms from fields in Idaho and Oregon.
Canola research is more important than ever to the crop’s future. With this in mind, the Northern Canola Growers Association (NCGA) has awarded $220,000 so far in 2016 to help fund nine studies. Projects this year address disease identification and control in canola, primarily blackleg and sclerotinia. Additional research seeks to decrease production costs, increase quality of canola and identify end-use applications.