Developing Canola for the Pacific Northwest and Beyond.

Very few crops have shown commercial adaptability to the dry land regions of the US Pacific Northwest.  Small grain cereals account for more than 80% of the acreage annually.  This has prompted many of the region’s growers to investigate alternative crops to avoid the disease build up and other problems associated with monoculture cereal production.  Expansion of conservation farming technologies in the region has required non-cereal rotation crops such as canola, rapeseed and mustard, which have shown good rotational benefits.  However, the lack of adapted cultivars was a major limitation to increased acreage of Brassicaceae crops.  The Rapeseed, Canola and Mustard Breeding group at the University of Idaho began developing improved winter canola and rapeseed cultivars over 25 years ago.  In 1992, the breeding team expanded their research and cultivar development objectives to include breeding spring canola and spring rapeseed (Brassica napus).  In addition, research and cultivar development programs were initiated in yellow mustard (Sinapis alba), brown or oriental mustard (B. juncea) to produce improved cultivars suitable for condiment mustard production.  Finally, more recently success has been achieved in genetic modification of the yellow mustard species to produce industrial or canola quality seed oils and livestock quality seed meal (i.e., either high or low erucic acid oil content, with low levels of glucosinolate in the seed meal).  Cultivars released by this project have commanded a high proportion of the Brassicaceae crop acreage in the inland northwest.  The overall objective of the research group is to develop superior Brassicaceae oilseed, mustard, and soil fumigant cultivars that are highly adapted to a wide range of dryland and irrigated regions of Idaho and other US regions.  Development of these crops has offered greater rotational flexibility and, has helped to reduce crop inputs, improve profitability and sustainability.  This presentation outlines the breeding procedures used in cultivar development.  Additional research covered will include: investigating breeding methodologies and selection efficiency; introgression of insect resistance from related species into a B. napus background, and developing specialty industrial oil types with unique fatty acid profiles.