The crop expert who first identified clubroot in western Canadian canola in 2003 has told Red Deer County farmers and landowners now is the time to develop a management plan for the disease.In the wake of two cases of clubroot being found in the county this year, up from just one case in 2011, the county held a luncheon at the Innisfail Legion on Nov. 26 to inform residents about ways to contain its spread.“It's working its way out from the epicentre, which is the Edmonton area,” said Dan Orchard, agronomy specialist with the Canola Council of Canada for Central Alberta. “It's a really, really robust hearty spore that survives in soil for up to 20 years.“It's spreading quicker than expected for a soil-borne disease. Growers are not immune, but can reduce their risk of the introduction of the pathogen.”Clubroot attacks the roots of plants in the Cruciferae family, essentially choking plants such as cabbage, mustard and canola.Clubroot does not affect wheat, oats or barley, and proper crop rotation is essential in containing the spread of the crop disease, guests heard.Farmers should check their fields multiple times a year for the disease, which was officially declared a pest in Alberta in 2007, he said.Cleaning machinery is also an important step in containing any outbreak."Counties that find one or two one year tend to find more thereafter,” he said, noting Red Deer County farmers are lucky to have caught the outbreak early."I think they're fairly confident they can manage this with all the knowledge and information they have,” he said.Some canola strains have been specifically genetically altered to provide a clubroot resistant variety, though minimal infection is still possible, he said.Taking lessons from other counties is an important step to fighting the spread of clubroot, said Art Preachuk, agricultural services manager for Red Deer County.“What we're trying to do is learn from others and what's happened in other areas,”said Preachuk. “If it does rear its head it will multiply and spread field to field to field.”Jane Fulton, agricultural services manager for Mountain View County, says no symptoms of clubroot were discovered in that county this year.The Nov. 26 meeting also included comments from Scott Meers, an insect management specialist with Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development, Murray Hartman, an oilseed specialist with Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development, and a Red Deer County presentation on pests and diseases found during surveying this year.
