Soil pH may be an important factor in the growth of a destructive fungus emerging in Western Canadian canola crops, new University of Alberta research shows.
The study the first to assess how soil's alkalinity or acidity affects Verticillium longisporum infection in canola shows that the fungus, which causes a disease called Verticillium stripe, grows quickly and spurs more severe symptoms under neutral to alkaline conditions, meaning high pH.
First found in Manitoba canola crops in 2014, V. longisporum has since been identified in parts of Alberta, Saskatchewan, British Columbia, Ontario and Quebec, and has resulted in yield losses ranging from 10 to 50 per cent.
