April 22, 2013
Western Canadian canola growers are not alone in their fight against clubroot. The brassica plant disease is present around the world, and clubroot management is a global effort. The Canola Council of Canada (CCC) and Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) will bring together a global network of leading researchers and academics to exchange information and research results at the 2013 International Clubroot Workshop in Edmonton, June 19-22.
“The workshop will have practical value for anyone in contact with clubroot, including growers, ag retailers, agronomists, county and municipal staff, government extension staff, and field workers in the oil and gas industry,” says Dan Orchard, agronomy specialist with the CCC and co-organizer of the event.
The program for Thursday, June 20 will focus on research, with presenters from the United Kingdom, Germany, Poland, China, India and Canada. Topics include new discoveries in how the disease works, efforts to expand genetic resistance, and analysis of new management techniques.
Friday’s program is about practical tips to prevent and manage the disease in the field. One Friday topic is on clubroot management regulations at the local level and how they work to contain the disease.
Friday afternoon includes a tour of a clubroot nursery with trials to demonstrate the value of soil amendments, fumigation treatments, resistant varieties, and dust traps as management tools. The tour also has an equipment sanitation demonstration.
Participants can choose which events they would like to attend.
“Previous clubroot meetings on the Prairies have been about local research. The 2013 International Clubroot Workshop brings in experts from around the globe, making it the premier clubroot event in the world,” says Clint Jurke, CCC agronomy specialist and co-organizer of the clubroot workshop. “The international workshop will have learning opportunities for everyone, and a chance to get an inside glimpse at the global effort to manage this disease.”
This workshop is funded in part by the Clubroot Risk Mitigation Initiative, an AAFC-funded research program that brought together leading clubroot researchers in Canada to focus solely on this disease.
For more information, including registration, agenda and accommodations, please click here. For more information on clubroot, visit clubroot.ca.
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Media may contact:
Clint Jurke
CCC agronomy specialist, Western Saskatchewan
306-821-2935
jurkec@canolacouncil.org
Dan Orchard
CCC agronomy specialist, North Central Alberta
780-777-9923
orchardd@canolacouncil.org
This media release is supported regionally by:
Alberta Canola Producers Commission; SaskCanola; Manitoba Canola Growers Association; Canola Council of Canada; Peace River Agriculture Development Fund; B.C. Ministry of Agriculture & Lands.
