Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 40 Page 41 Page 42 Page 43 Page 44 Page 45 Page 46 Page 47 Page 48 Page 49 Page 50 Page 51 Page 52 Page 53 Page 54 Page 55 Page 56 Page 57 Page 58 Page 59 Page 60 Page 61 Page 62 Page 63 Page 64 Page 65 Page 66 Page 67 Page 68SUPPORTED BY: W E B I N A R To learn more about the proposed new resistance classification model and the latest research on mitigating canola blackleg, join us for the Germination Strategy Session webinar Feb. 14 at 1 p.m. Eastern. Register online at issuesink.com/germinationwebinar. LEARN MORE 20 ENDORSED BY: Hwang found that pyraclostrobin fungicide reduced disease severity in all site years and increased yield. These results show that reducing blackleg substantially improves yields, he says. The Multigenic Promise Seed companies and breeders con- tinue to work in this area, providing better and better hybrids and varieties for farmers. DL Seed’s Liban says seed companies are working on introducing new types of resistance, other AvrLm genes into our varieties and into the marketplace. “We’ve steadily introduced varieties that do have blackleg resistance,” Liban says, noting that this move should improve the reliability of resistance that is seen over time. He says there are more than 15 resistance genes that are known. “We have a lot of tools in the toolkit, per se, to be able to fight this disease,” Liban says. But he cautions that not all resistance genes are of the same qual- ity. Liban explains that one gene may only be effective against 10 per cent of the population, whereas another resist- ance gene might be effective against 90 per cent of the population. He says this means reasearchers have to be able to look at what’s out there in terms of pathogen population, identify which genes are most effective and then transfer those into varieties that can hit the market and help control the disease long term. While there are many genes avail- able, Liban says not many studies have been done looking at the genes in the marketplace. “Over time, I expect companies will release varieties which have dif- ferent sources of resistance,” he says. “Companies have already started making claims of multigenic resist- ance.” There’s not a single resistance gene that can overcome all the isolates in Western Canada, he says. So if you have resistance genes that are 70 per cent effective, then there’s a 30 per cent gap that some races can’t overcome. “Multigenic resistance gives you the option to have a double insurance policy,” he says. “It will become harder for the pathogen to overcome multiple resistance genes. The idea is to provide different sources of resistance working together in a single variety to improve the resistance tolerance of that variety.” “Multigenic resistance gives you the option to have a double insurance policy. It will become harder for the pathogen to overcome multiple genes.” — Sakaria Liban Blackleg fruiting bodies on this canola stem produce wind-borne spores. Photo: Canola Council of Canada. Continued Work The CCC has a Blackleg Steering Group, which has developed a poten- tial model to classify blackleg resist- ance genes. The model would continue to support the WCC/RRC field testing to determine the categories (resistant, moderately resistant, moderately sus- ceptible and susceptible). Major gene groupings can be determined by the breeder at their discretion. Employing genetic markers or phenotypic testing at their own facilities or at the facilities of a third party group would be up to the breeder. This model is being presented and discussed at winter meetings. Rempel says he would like to achieve consen- sus on a new resistance classification model. Once the wider industry supports a new resistance classification model, the Blackleg Steering Group will take the lead on developing extension messag- ing and tools for it. The wider industry can then start talking about and pro- moting it, with the goal to lower black- leg in the field by 2020. Julie Deering