High Seed Yield and High Oil Canola Breeding at the North Dakota State University.

North Dakota State University initiated a canola breeding program in 2006. North Dakota (ND) is the leading produces of canola with over 91% of US production. The major objective of this program is to increase the competitiveness of ND in the production and processing of canola oils and biodiesel. Initially the program obtained open pollinated germplasm from a private source and from USDA, ARS Plant Genetic Resources Unit, New York. The germplasm were evaluated in several locations of ND. Several promising lines were identified with high seed yield and high oil content. The lines were crossed with each other and the segregating population at F₄ generation was tested in the year 2008 using augmented design at three locations. The selected promising lines were advanced to F₆ generation in the winter nursery facilities in Chile during 2008-09. In 2009, an advanced yield trial (AYT) was conducted at six locations of ND. The AYT showed an average of 11.5% (range -21.2% to +25.6%) yield advantage over the parental lines. The average oil content of the selected lines in the AYT is 45.7%, a 1.1% higher than the mean of parental lines. The range of oil content of the breeding lines was 42.7% to 47.1%, where the range of oil content for the parental lines was 44.7% to 45.9%. Crossing between winter and spring types to develop new high seed yield germplasm is in progress. Interspecific crosses were made among B. napus, B. rapa, B. juncea and B. carinata to develop modified canola lines with high oil and high seed yield adapted to ND.