Before you harvest, scout for blackleg

Aug 10, 2023

Keep it Clean reminds Canadian canola growers that blackleg can cause yield and quality losses, impact profitability and may create a market risk.

To help manage the disease and maintain the effectiveness of varieties’ genetic resistance, growers are encouraged to employ an integrated blackleg management strategy, including pre-harvest scouting for the disease.

Although symptoms of blackleg appear throughout the season, the optimal time to scout for the disease is just before swathing or around 60% seed colour change.

To scout for blackleg, pull up at least 50 plants in a W-pattern through the field and clip at the base of the stem/top of the root to look for blackened tissue. Any black discoloration seen in the cross section can be compared to the disease severity scale (above). The scale rates plants from 0 (no discoloration) to 5 (completely discoloured), and with each step on the rating scale there is a reduction in yield.

Video: Democratizing Gene Editing - Pairwise’s Vision for the Future of Agriculture

Pairwise has built its business around an idea that runs counter to how many companies approach innovation: make transformative technology easier to access.

In this Seed World interview, CEO Tom Adams discusses why broader access to gene editing could speed crop improvement, expand innovation opportunities and help agriculture address emerging challenges. He explains why Pairwise believes no single company can solve all of agriculture's problems alone—and why making advanced breeding technologies available to more organizations could accelerate progress across the industry.

The conversation explores how consumer trust influences technology adoption, why innovations like pitless cherries and seedless blackberries matter beyond convenience, and how future crop improvements could help address labor shortages, automation, harvest efficiency and other production challenges. Adams also shares his perspective on what the industry may be underestimating about the next wave of gene editing innovation.

Watch the full interview to hear why Pairwise believes agriculture is approaching an important inflection point for gene editing, and why the pace of innovation over the next decade could surprise the industry.

Topics Covered:

o Democratizing agricultural innovation

o Consumer trust and technology adoption

o The business case for sharing innovation

o Expanding innovation beyond major crops

o Next-generation breeding technologies