Farmers in Aldergrove and Pitt Meadows have won a $36 million lawsuit against an American fertilizer company that they say damaged or destroyed much of their crops.

JRT Nurseries, based in Aldergrove, was a family farm growing blueberries both in Langley and south of the border in Lynden, Wash.

DeZwaan Nurseries in Pitt Meadows was growing ornamental trees such as maples.

According to court documents in Oregon, where the lawsuit was launched, both firms switched from a fertilizer product called Osmocote to a new brand dubbed Multicote, distributed by Sun Gro Horticulture.

After applying the fertilizer to their fields starting in 2007, both Lower Mainland farms found their crops were withering, turning yellow, and in some cases dying.

The new Multicote was marketed as superior to, but for the same use as, the competing brand.

In statements of claim, the local farmers blamed the presence of two nutrients in the new fertilizer that should never have been applied to horticultural crops. One was an iron supplement, the other a micronutrient.

The bulk of the $36 million award was to JRT, with a little more than $400,000 in damages found for DeZwaan.

According to White Rock lawyer Joseph Prodor, who represented the farmers, it is believed to be the largest product liability award ever to a Canadian corporation or individual.

The defendents are expected to appeal the findings and the size of the financial award, Prodor said.

The farmers themselves were in Oregon for the conclusion of the trial and were not available for comment.