Clubroot Disease on the Rise in Alberta
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Clubroot is a highly infectious plant fungus that is a significant threat to canola, and also affects the cabbage family, including cole crop vegetables like broccoli, cauliflower, brussel sprouts, rutabaga and mustard. It requires a living host in order to grow, and once it begins to thrive the pathogen can cause excessive root growth that results in growth-stunting galls on the roots. This ultimately kills the plants. In fields with clubroot infections, the yield losses can be quite substantial. In some instances, entire crops will fail as a result of clubroot infection.
The disease was first identified in canola crops in Alberta around 2001. By 2004, in response to the disease’s growth, Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development, in collaboration with the University of Alberta and the Agriculture Service Board Fieldmen, began performing annual surveys to detect the fungus. Approximately 5000 vegetable and canola fields across the province of Alberta are surveyed, with over 450 canola fields and three vegetable fields showing positive results for the pathogen. The Parkland, Leduc and Sturgeon counties in central Alberta have been hit the hardest since clubroot broke out in the province.
2009’s dry spring held the promise of reduced clubroot activity, and, as hoped, virtually no clubroot was detected in southern Alberta come summer. However, unusually high levels of the disease were unexpectedly detected in central Alberta, most likely as a result of the late rain in the summer, and the uneven germination of the crops.
The growing threat presented by clubroot has got producers across Alberta thinking about disease management strategies and new, specific measures that can be taken to attack the clubroot pathogen. New management strategies are focused on the development of new diagnostic methods and advanced pathogen biology. In western Canada, where clubroot is particularly prevalent, there are more than 25 scientists and technicians working on eradicating clubroot. According to the provincial agriculture department, Alberta is one of the world’s leading centres for clubroot research.
Through the federal government’s Growing Forward program, about $3.7 million has been allotted for research into this debilitating crop disease. The money will be administered by the Clubroot Risk Mitigation Program over the next four years. The initiative will be led by the Canola Council of Canada and will examine the pathogen’s breeding habits and pathology, as well as disease management practices.
