Now is the time for canola growers to consider using a fungicide to control blackleg.

Anastasia Kubinec, oilseeds crop specialist with Manitoba Agriculture, Food, and Rural Development says the optimal time to apply a fungicide is between the two and six leaf stage - more specifically between the two and four leaf stage.

She has a few tips for producers.

"Things to watch for is if you have been getting yield loss from blackleg in the past, if you've been pushing your canola rotation to two years or less between canola crops, and you have variable environmental conditions - which we do, we've had rainfall."

Kubinec says a fungicide application may not be necessary if growing a variety of canola that has a good resistance to blackleg.