Digest-Sep2011_Aug22.pdf

GROWING GLOBAL

HYBRID CANOLA TAKES AN INTERNATIONAL JOURNEY

By Carla Pouteau

Hybrid varieties are the leading choice for today’s growers. Discover their path to commercialization and what it takes to get these valuable traits into the field.

25

ybrid canola was first introduced to the marketplace in the early 1990s. Adoption of this technology by farmers has been swift despite the associated higher seed costs. In 2010, approximately 85 percent of the canola planted was a hybrid. “Farmers are sharp – they recognize the value of hybrid seed on their farms,” says Murray Hartman, Oilseed Specialist with Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development. “Farmers want the yield increase associated with hybrids and know that hybrids tolerate weeds and other stresses better.” Hartman notes that hybrids are more competitive and work in concert with herbicide tolerant systems which result in cleaner canola crops with less dockage. Over the past number of years, the value of the canola crop has helped with the rapid adoption of this technology. So why are higher seed costs associated with hybrids? “Canola varieties have a relatively short life cycle, averaging about three years,”

After pollination, the male plants are f lail mowed out of Cargill SCO’s hybrid seed production fields in Idaho Falls.

says Dave Kelner, Monsanto’s Technology Development Lead for western Canada. As a result, Kelner explains, “as a seed company, we have to think a number of years ahead to ensure the steps are in place to bring varieties to market as soon as possible.” Because each variety faces such a short life cycle, those with the greatest potential for yield or specialty traits must be identified quickly. “We think of hybrid development as narrowing varieties through a funnel,” explains Kelner. “A number of processes are happening in parallel – inbred develop- ment and hybrid testing, trait integration and seed production. They need to come

together at the same time to launch the best products with the traits of interest.” In recent years, companies have been entering into licensing agreements with each other to share various traits. “That exchange is beneficial for the entire industry because the overall objective is to increase production,” says Rod Merryweather, Bayer CropScience’s North American Director – Oilseeds and Traits Operations. Hybrid seed is the first generation of seed produced from a controlled cross between two parents. The combination of parent genes results in a hybrid that

continued on page 26

PHOTO Cargill Specialty Canola Oils

CANOLA DIGEST SEPTEMBER 2011