This week, Canola Watch asked a small group of agronomists from across the Canadian Prairies to identify canola production threats that increased in their areas over the past few years.
Notable trends in the answers:
–Verticillium stripe. This is an up-and-coming canola disease on the Canadian Prairies – newer relative to the big three: blackleg, sclerotinia stem rot and clubroot.
–Cabbage seedpod weevils reached surprisingly high numbers on the eastern Prairies in 2025. (They are much more common in the southwest Prairies.) While not as significant as flea beetles (usually), weevils received more attention that flea beetles in the survey.
–Herbicide-resistant weed biotypes continue to increase and glyphosate-resistant kochia has become a problem in some fields all across the Prairies. However, the weed that stood out for me in the survey was lamb’s quarters. It got a few specific mentions, second only to kochia.
–Weather and climate. Overall lack of rainfall has been an issue off and on over the past few years on the Prairies, and heat at flowering is particularly damaging. However, summer of 2025 was not quite as warm as in previous years and canola yields on the Canadian Prairies were the best ever. There is probably some connection, although many factors influence yield.
–Balanced nutrition always enters the conversation, and specific shortages can be an issue in some fields. After a high-yielding year, soil reserves can be lower than expected. Yield, fertilizer rates and profit potential are always in fine balance for farmers.
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