b'Its about vigilance, she explains. All growers need to be really focused on scouting, regardless of whether theyve had clubroot in their fields. They need to be conscious of crop rotation; they need some sort of biosecurity plan; they need to be managing weedsmustards, volunteer canola, shepherds purse - that can multiply clubroot spores in off-years. A 2019 study from the University of Alberta (U of A) showed clubroot in-field spore-load decreased by 90 per cent following a two-year break from canola production. While that drop is very significant and makes rotation a key management strategy, keep in mind a single clubroot gall can produce billions of spores, and spores can last up to 20 years in the soil.If you have a billion spores per gram of soil and you wait two years after your last canola rotation, youre still left with 100 million spores per gram of soil, Brittany Hennig, Alberta Canolas research director, explains the two-year wait is done in order to achieve the 90 per cent drop in spore-load. Clubroot spores are just so plentiful and microscopic that its not realistic to say were going to eradicate them entirely. The goal is to manage the disease so whatever does remain in your soil doesnt cause severe infestation in your crop.Were wondering if genetics and breeding can keep up since we know how long it takes to bring a cultivar to market. Farmers dont need to be scared but they should be proactive and mindful of the disease. Brittany HennigThe Growing Resistance ThreatArguably most critical: all Albertan producers should be exclusively planting resistant varieties. There is still a way to go to achieve that goalin 2020, 63 per cent of insured canola acres in Alberta were resistant cultivars. Its a good start but our goal is to have (clubroot resistance) in 100 per cent of canola acres. Not all growers understand the importance of having resistance on every acre, regardless of whether they have clubroot in their field or not, Barnes says. But were moving in the right direction.The second concern about clubroot is its increasing ability to Clubroot, including pathotypes that overcome clubroot resistant canola, isovercome a crops genetic resistance.spreading across Alberta. PHOTO: CANOLA COUNCIL OF CANADA50seed.ab.ca'