Canola producers in Alberta are facing a growing problem that many local politicians and famers believe needs to be addressed immediately, with a local canola producer group calling for meetings and specialists to visit the area and educate farmers.
On Tuesday, area producer Roger Beaudin spent time speaking to County of St. Paul council about the growing problem.
“It’s unfortunate, but more clubroot has been found in the county,” he said, adding, he’s not placing the blame on anyone, but producers and the municipality can’t keep their heads in the sand anymore.
Clubroot is a soil-borne disease that affects crucifer crops in many parts of the world, according to Alberta Agriculture. “Clubroot has the potential to be a significant threat to canola production in parts of Alberta,” says the website.
Beaudin requested that a specialist be brought in to speak to and educate producers on the issue. He also recommended that the county test all canola fields in the municipality to gauge how clubroot is spreading.
Research with canola indicates that if infestation reaches 100 per cent in a crop, there will be a 50 per cent loss. The percent of yield lost is about half the percent of infected plants.
Beaudin felt that, according to the information he’s been able to access, municipalities that take action on the issue could reduce the infestation of the disease.
“I’m asking council to be proactive,” he said.
County of St. Paul Reeve Steve Upham responded, saying, “We realize we need to be acting on it.”
With Coun. Glen Ockerman adding, “I think we’re all in this together.” He recommended trying to get the province involved in the issue, along with ensuring the surrounding municipalities are also doing something to address clubroot.
Beaudin responded, saying he felt it was important to start at the bottom, with producers, and keep pushing up from there.
County of St. Paul Agricultural Fieldman Dennis Bergheim said he believed the issue would fall under pest control, which is typically downloaded onto the municipalities to deal with.
Coun. Frank Sloan noted that he didn’t feel the provincial government was very agriculturally oriented, and the issue would likely be left with municipalities and producers to figure out.
“Every farm is different,” said Beaudin, when speaking on how to address the issue. He noted that some farms are larger and have more resources to tackle the problem, while others are smaller and can’t afford certain measures.
“Each farm needs to think of what they can do.”
Sloan felt the first step to be taken should be to find out how many fields have clubroot in the county.
“At this time, I don’t feel that we know,” said Sloan, later adding, “We’ve got to take the bull by the horns and go after this thing.”
Beaudin said meetings between producers have just started, and it will be imperative to get everyone on board. “Nobody wants to be told how to farm,” he said. But, producers can be educated and guided into making their own decisions.
Assistant Agricultural Fieldman Keith Kornelsen was also in attendance during Tuesday’s discussion. He noted that some fields have been found to have clubroot, west of St. Paul. In that case, the producer was unaware of the steps that should be taken to reduce the spread.
“We need to get more education out,” said Kornelsen.
Beaudin added that if producers can slow the infestation down, it would improve the situation. But, education must reach producers, custom operators, and landowners who rent out their property.
A group of over 80 producers gathered at the St. Paul Legion on Thursday night to discuss clubroot and how to tackle the disease. Dan Orchard, an agronomy specialist with the Canola Council of Canada visited St. Paul to speak about clubroot.
He described the disease as being “kind of like a cancer,” in that it continues to spread if proper measures aren’t taken. Orchard went over the lifecycle of clubroot, which still isn’t fully understood by researchers.
Spores affect plant cells, which results in the cells not being able to transport nutrients and water. The spores move in the soil, and clubroot doesn’t express itself in most other crops in Alberta, aside from canola.
Clubroot travels wherever dirt goes, said Orchard. He recommended producers clean and treat their seed. The disease can even travel in dust in the air, making it hard to control. A number of different strains of clubroot exist in Alberta alone.
Orchard said 90 per cent of fields that have clubroot, have the disease at the entrance or exit of the field, which means it was brought in from somewhere on a piece of machinery.
“Finding it early is key,” he added.
According to recent statistics presented by Orchard, two new cases of clubroot was found in the County of St. Paul this past season, while 15 new cases were found in the Smoky Lake area. Four new cases were found in Two Hills, and two new cases in Bonnyville.
Environmental factors such as Ph and temperature appear to have an affect on clubroot, but “there’s still so much to learn,” about the disease, said Orchard. As he wrapped up his PowerPoint presentation, he offered producers some evidence that crop rotation is a sure way to reduce the effects of clubroot.
After a two-year break from growing canola, 90 per cent of the spores aren’t viable, said Orchard. “Out here, that would be a huge way to keep (clubroot) at bay.”
