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CANOLA DIGEST SEPTEMBER 2011
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.
HYBRID CANOLA
TAKES AN INTERNATIONAL
JOURNEY
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,”
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
GROWING GLOBAL
continued on page 26
After pollination, the male plants are f lail mowed out of Cargill SCO’s hybrid seed
production fields in Idaho Falls.
PHOTO Cargill Specialty Canola Oils