b'He worked in partnership with Ken Coles of Farming Smarter and a New Brunswick-based trainer. Four dogs, including a Black Labrador, a German Shepherd and a rescued Golden Doodle, were trained to detect clubroot and then trialed in Alberta canola crops. That project has been quite successful in the fact that weve shown dogs definitely can be trained to detect clubroot, said Harding. We dont know yet if this is going to have any real impact on the industry, he continued. Well have to wait and see if somebodys willing to do the adaptive research. Weve proven that it can be done, but the dogs were quite novice.University of Alberta Focuses on Clubroot ResearchHarding isnt the only one doing clubroot-related research. Steve Strelkov, professor of plant pathology at the UniversitySpore numbers seem to be the key and keeping spore loads low and local is of Alberta, is probably the provinces foremost researcher onimportant, says Dan Orchard. PHOTO: DAN ORCHARD.clubroot. He and his team are working on four separate projects at the moment. Furthermore, Strelkov and his team are leading research into First, they have been leading research to identify thethe development of a molecular assay to detect P. brassicae pathotypes (strains) of P. brassicae. This information ispathotypes from plant and soil samples. important for understanding how different sources of hostOn top of that, Strelkov is working on a project that looks at resistance could perform. the possibility of pH-insensitive strains of the pathogen. We have identified new pathotypes that can overcome hostFinally, working in collaboration with colleague Sheau-Fang resistance in canola, and have been tracking the emergenceHwang at the University of Alberta, Strelkov is leading work on of these new strains, said Strelkov. We have also workedseveral strategies to manage the clubroot pathogen, including with Michael Harding with AAF and many of the counties andsoil liming.municipalities to track the spread of the disease. Melanie Epp2019-2020 Seed VarietiesAAC Brandon HRS WheatAAC Connery HRS WheatAAC Viewfield HRS WheatAAC Penhold CPS WheatAAC Crossfield CPS WheatAAC Carver Yellow PeasCS Camden OatsCanmore BarleyContact Wetaskiwin Co-op Agro780-352-3359I1-888-352-NPKSOur GROW Team is available to assist with all of your farms needsSoil Sampling l Crop Planning l Field ScoutingCrop Protection l Nutrient Planning & Management3702 47th StWetaskiwin ABT9A [email protected] 2019 59'