Canola Agronomic Research Program (CARP) projects that commenced in 2024 will investigate management solutions related to blackleg, clubroot, flea beetles, midges, sclerotinia, verticillium stripe and other biotic and abiotic threats. These projects are funded by Alberta Canola, SaskOilseeds and Manitoba Canola Growers, as well as the Western Grains Research Foundation (WGRF).

13 new Canola Agronomic Research Program Projects

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Integrated pest management

DISEASES

 

Project: Biocontrol of blackleg using carnivorous bacteria (part 2)

Principal investigator: Paul Holloway, University of Winnipeg

Funding: Manitoba Canola Growers, Western Grains Research Foundation

Purpose: To identify strains and species of bacteria from Manitoban soils that inhibit/kill blackleg, challenge bacteria-inoculated seedlings with blackleg and identify if the same bacteria are effective against verticillium stripe.

Project: Methods to isolate and maintain clubroot for improved resistance screening and labelling

Principal investigator: Stephen Strelkov, University of Alberta

Funding: Alberta Canola, Manitoba Canola Growers, SaskOilseeds, Western Grains Research Foundation

Purpose: To develop best practices to maintain clubroot isolates on plants, optimize micro-lasers to isolate single spores and work with the Clubroot Steering Committee to introduce clubroot labelling on major pathotypes.

Project: In vitro culture of Plasmodiophora brassicae

Mary Ruth McDonald
Mary Ruth McDonald, University of Guelph, leads a new project to develop a method for in vitro culturing of clubroot and produce single-spore cultures of clubroot for sequencing.

Principal investigator: Mary Ruth McDonald, University of Guelph

Funding: Alberta Canola, SaskOilseeds, Western Grains Research Foundation

Purpose: To develop a method for in vitro culturing of clubroot and produce single-spore cultures of clubroot for sequencing.

Project: Clubroot pathotype evaluation and monitoring

Principal investigator: Stephen Strelkov, University of Alberta

Funding: Alberta Canola, SaskOilseeds, Western Grains Research Foundation

Purpose: Tracking clubroot occurrence, severity and spread, generating isolates from collected root samples, and monitoring pathotype composition, virulence shifts and potential resistance breaking pathotypes.

Project: Expanding BnVQs (Valene-Glutamine) gene family against Sclerotinia sclerotiorum in canola

Principal investigator: Zhongwei Zou, Wilfred Laurier University

Funding: SaskOilseeds, Western Grains Research Foundation

Purpose: To evaluate sclerotinia resistance of canola varieties (spring canola, winter canola, blackleg resistance lines) and characterize BnVQ gene expression patterns. Produce transgenic lines overexpressing critical BnVQ genes and identify novel genes that can improve resistance.

Project: Investigating the conditions favouring verticillium stripe development and yield losses in canola

Principal investigator: Sheau-Fang Hwang, University of Alberta and Fouad Daayf, University of Manitoba

Funding: Alberta Canola, Manitoba Canola Growers, SaskOilseeds, Western Grains Research Foundation

Purpose: To examine interactions between verticillium stripe and blackleg in soil and in lab, evaluate the impact of pH on verticillium stripe, investigate how canola defenses react to verticillium stripe and determine the lineage/specificity of collected isolates while also looking at the verticillium stripe seed infection rate.

Project: Comparative analysis of Verticillium longisporum lineages in the Canadian Prairies: Safeguarding canola production

Principal investigator: Zhongwei Zou, Wilfred Laurier University and Harmeet Singh Chawla, University of Manitoba

Funding: SaskOilseeds, Western Grains Research Foundation

Purpose: Collect and characterize different V. longisporum isolates prevalent in the Prairies to provide critical genetics and genomics knowledge on verticillium stripe and the disease progression in canola plants.

Project: A comprehensive survey of verticillium stripe and establishment of a disease nursery in Morden, Manitoba

 

Ahmed Abdelmagid outdoors in a field.
Ahmed Abdelmagid with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada in Morden, Manitoba is developing a verticillium stripe disease nursery. The nursery will help researchers select for cultivars with disease resistance

Principal investigator: Ahmed Abdelmagid, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada Morden

Funding: Manitoba Canola Growers, SaskOilseeds, Western Grains Research Foundation

Purpose: To conduct a survey across Manitoba to build a collection of isolates to develop a disease breeding nursery in Morden, and to characterize the lineages of collected isolates.

Project: Impact of synergistic interaction between Verticillium longisporum and Leptosphaeria maculans on canola yield

Principal investigator: Hossein Borhan, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada Saskatoon

Funding: Alberta Canola, SaskOilseeds, Western Grains Research Foundation

Purpose: To investigate the compound impact of verticillium stripe and blackleg on susceptible canola, identify sources of resistance to verticillium stripe, test durability of multiple gene blackleg resistance lines and develop susceptible/resistance check lines to test verticillium stripe resistance.

 

INSECTS

 

Project: Population dynamics and monitoring programs for midges attacking canola

Principal investigator: Meghan Vankosky, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Saskatoon

Funding: Alberta Canola, SaskOilseeds, Western Grains Research Foundation

Purpose: The utilization of pheromone traps to monitor swede midge and canola flower midge for early detection of invasion and monitor population density/geographic range. Also to determine growing season population dynamics of flower midge and its potential impact on yields.

Project: Tracking the movement of flea beetles across the Canadian Prairies

Principal investigator: Boyd Mori, University of Alberta

Funding: Alberta Canola, Manitoba Canola Growers, SaskOilseeds

Purpose: To survey flea beetle populations across the Prairies to determine species composition and movement of beetles and to conduct a field level study to determine if flea beetles with non-crop hosts contribute to populations in nearby canola crops.

Project: Volatile-based trapping and management of flea beetles

Principal investigator: Maya Evenden, University of Alberta

Funding: Alberta Canola and SaskOilseeds

Purpose: To compare commercial flea beetle attractants and traps in spring and fall, and identify best practices for implementing lures/traps to develop a attract-and-kill formulation.

 

GENETICS

 

Project: New pre-breeding tools for canola – facilitating canola improvement by accessing diploid variation

Principal investigator: Steve Robinson, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Saskatoon

Funding: SaskOilseeds, Western Grains Research Foundation

Purpose: To access new genetic variation from diploid Brassica species by marker-assisted introduction of alleles, remove reproductive barriers between B. rapa and B. oleracea and generate synthetic B. napus lines for canola breeding. The genetic resources developed during this project can be made available to the canola industry supporting additional efforts to introduce necessary variation required by canola breeders.