There have been five new cases of clubroot disease discovered in Manitoba this year.

Three of the previous cases were found in the RM of Pembina, while the latest cases were discovered in the RM's of Lorne and Dufferin. One of the first three cases was volunteer canola in soybeans, while the rest were found in patches of a canola field.

Holly Derksen is a plant pathologist with Manitoba Agriculture.

Holly Derksen - File Photo

"It's definitely more than we've seen, especially at this point in the year, but it's by no means an outbreak and I don't think that there's any reason to think that this year is more severe. It's not like the conditions were that much more conducive. I think it snowballed in that, one person found it, we were talking about it, we were being very public about it and then I think from our messaging, people realized that this is a manageable disease. The idea is to get out in front of it. So I think more growers are knowing what to look for in the field and then maybe also are being up front about it and actually contacting us and letting us know when they have found it."

She encourages producers to contact Manitoba Agriculture if they suspect that they have found clubroot in their canola so that they can put together a management plan going forward and monitor it over time.