Research to Minimize the Impact of Blackleg Disease on Canola Production in the U. S.
Carl Bradley, North Dakota State University - $38,439
Daniel Phillips, University of Georgia - $9,000

Blackleg continues to be a problem for growers, especially those in northeastern North Dakota. The 2004 canola disease survey indicated that 9.5% of canola plants surveyed in northeastern North Dakota had penetrating blackleg lesions.

The establishment of the NDSU canola blackleg nursery helped provide information to seed companies, growers, crop consultants, extension personnel, and other canola interests on the resistance levels of current and experimental canola cultivars.

The continuation of the NDSU canola blackleg nursery is vital to these canola interests as a source of unbiased information from research trials. Durability of a resistant gene could be defined as the ability of a gene to remain effective over multiple years and across multiple locations. Because of the genetic variability of the blackleg pathogen, Leptosphaeria maculans, the durability of blackleg resistance genes will always be at risk.

Evaluating resistant canola cultivars at the University of Georgia blackleg nurseries, helps provide information on the durability of some of our resistant commercial canola cultivars. The blackleg nurseries in Georgia are infested with highly variable and aggressive L. maculans populations.

Objectives:
1. Maintain a blackleg field nursery in the northern U. S. canola production area to evaluate commercial cultivars, experimental lines, and breeding lines for resistance to blackleg.
2. Evaluate northern canola cultivars in southern blackleg nurseries with diverse strains of L. maculans.