If you haven’t already been walking your canola fields, now is the time, particularly after the very wet fall, warm temperatures right up to snow cover, and the extensive period of snow cover that added up to what can be perfect conditions for blackleg. In winter canola, look for lesions on primarily the lower leaves and leaf material that died back during the winter. The center of the lesions will have tiny black specks (pycnidia).

Residue from previous canola crops and cover crops containing Brassica species should also be observed. Collect suspicious leaves, stems, and/or residues, and drop off or mail to WSU, UI, or OSU.

Click here for an FAQ document, and here for a blackleg update from WOCS.