09/23/2026
In agriculture, we rarely celebrate disease. But in a blackleg nursery, strong disease pressure means the research is working!
Blackleg is endemic in Alberta, which is why testing for resistance is so important.
A blackleg nursery exposes canola germplasm to disease, so researchers can assess resistance under real field conditions. This field data helps support canola variety registration and recommendations. Lakeland College is proud to be the second Alberta site in the Western Canadian blackleg nursery network, alongside four sites in Saskatchewan and two in Manitoba.
With timely inoculation, a little rain, support from the crops team and a few “negotiations” with the gophers, we established strong blackleg pressure in Westar canola. 🦫🌱
On September 15, Lakeland College and Alberta Canola turned that research into three hands-on sessions for producers, agronomists, and Bachelor of Agriculture Technology students.
The workshop was organized by Dr. Haider Abbas, Canola Research Scientist at Lakeland College, in collaboration with Keith Gabert, Provincial Canola Agronomy Specialist with Alberta Canola, who kept the sessions practical and engaging.
Special thanks to the Lakeland College Applied Research Crops team for making the nursery and workshop a success.
