The canola industry will be on the lookout for a new disease this growing season.
An isolated case of Verticillium wilt showed up for the first time in Canada over the winter in a canola crop in Manitoba.
Kanwal Kochhar, national manager of grains and oilseeds with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA), encourages producers to keep an open eye this summer.
"CFIA has developed disease identification cards, which contain pictures, and are to be used by farmers to scout their fields," she said. "The cards can be obtained from local CFIA offices and also for the benefit of everyone, pictures of the symptoms have been put on CFIA's website."
Kochhar says all Canadians have an obligation under the plant protection act to report any findings to the CFIA.
She adds any findings can be reported online or at any local CFIA office.
Field symptoms of Verticillium longisporum infection on Brassica napus showing one-sided stem discolouration - Courtesy CFIA
Layers of blackish microsclerotia underneath disrupted epidermis on the stem of a mature rape