What's Happening in Leduc, AB…

Leduc area farmers are being asked to keep their eyes peeled for a noxious plant that could be growing in their fields.

Jimsonweed, also known as thorn apple and angel’s trumpet, has been found growing in three different canola fields in Alberta, with one of them being in Leduc country.

This plant is poisonous, and its seeds have a size similar to canola. The concern is that it could contaminate harvested crops.

The plant stands about one to one and a half meters tall, which makes it easy to spot above the canola. It has thick stems, trumpet-shaped flowers that range from white to pink or purple, and it often has a bad odor. Its seeds pods are oval shaped, have sharp spines and contain hundreds of seeds. When ripe, they explode, scattering them through the area around the weed.

Leduc area farmers who find it in their fields are asked to pull it up, place it in a secure bag and bring it into the county office so that it can be disposed of. Brochure printers can produce informational materials that can be distributed to farmers and property owners so that they will know what to look for and what to do should they find the plant.

It is prohibited to important jimsonweed into Canada, and it’s believed it may have come in in a contaminated seed lot. The Canadian Food Inspection agency is working on a plan to destroy the weeds before they spread even further.