Add County of Stettler to the list of Central Alberta municipalities hit by clubroot.
The disease that affects canola crops was detected in three fields through a monitoring program. The municipal is already working closely with the landowners affected to prevent the infestation from spreading.
It is not surprising that clubroot, which is spread easily, would turn up eventually, said Quinton Beaumont, County of Stettler director of agricultural services.
“With the tight rotations of crop it is only a matter of time,” Beaumont said. “It’s all around us.”
Clubroot had previously been found in nearby Red Deer, Lacombe, Ponoka, Flagstaff and Camrose counties. In all, clubroot was found in 20 of the province’s 69 counties and municipal districts last year.
Quinton said the county has been checking one field per township as part of its survey program but is planning to boost that considerably now that the disease has been found.
Workshops will be held this winter to advise farmers about the best ways to reduce the chances of getting the soil-borne disease, which causes the roots of canola plants to mutate and swell, eventually killing the plant.
It is recommended farmers carefully managed crop rotations, turn to clubroot-resistant varieties and carefully clean equipment of vegetation and soil to prevent the disease from spreading.
Steam cleaning or even using a two per cent bleach solution when possible are also good preventive measures, said Beaumont.
While there are no guarantees that a canola field won’t be affected, taking the steps recommended by Alberta Agriculture has already done much to reduce damage from the disease in other affected municipalities, he said.
“It is a small infestation right now so if we get on top of it and work with the farmers we can beat this before it gets out of hand,” he said.
In Red Deer County, the first infected field was found last year and two more — one in the east and one in the west — have been found this year with three other samples still being tested at the lab, said Art Preachuk, the county’s agricultural manager.
The county is planning to survey all fields seeded back to back with canola, as well as five to 10 fields per township. About 250 to 300 of the county’s 1,100 canola fields will be surveyed.
“When you think that a lot of farmers are farming 2,000, 3,000, 5,000 acres we’re probably hitting most (canola) farmers by doing a cross-section like this.”
Preachuk was not surprised to hear another county had found the disease.
“It’s on the move, and we’re such a mobile society in every aspect.”
Besides farmers moving hay and equipment from field to field, oil and gas vehicles are in and out of fields. Nature also plays a role, with wind, birds and animals capable of spreading the spores.
Preachuk said the county is planning workshops, and in the next few days a mailout is going out to county farmers with recommendations on how best to scout for clubroot and other crop diseases.
In Ponoka County, clubroot has been found in two fields so far this season, said Shayne Steffen, manager of agriculture services.
While the number of affected fields is low, the disease is on the move. Prior to this year, all clubroot in Ponoka County was found on the east side of Hwy 2, but the latest infestations were found on the west side.
pcowley@www.reddeeradvocate.com