Managing small patches of clubroot infestation in canola fields

Project Summary

Purpose

The main objective is to develop practical recommendations for managing small patches of clubroot in commercial canola fields. The project includes lab studies of rotation crops and grass cover crops, field studies of the efficacy of liming and grasses, and identification of improved techniques for estimating resting spore numbers in soil.

Progress

In the second year of the project, several studies to examine the effect of grass crops and rotation crops on resting spore concentration under controlled conditions have been completed but analysis has been delayed because of the COVID-19 shutdown. Soil samples have been collected from four field sites to assess efficacy of grass crops and liming on reducing spore numbers in fields. An improved (more reliable) molecular test for spore concentration in soil was validated and described in a scientific paper that was published in 2020.