Canola Production in Australia – Success on the Driest Continent on Earth.

Canola is the most important broad-leaf rotation crop in Australia’s dryland cropping system and the 3rd most valuable crop overall. Current production levels are around 4.3 Mill tonnes from 2 M ha (~5 M acres) worth an estimated AUS$2.7 Bill. Canola production in Australia is from spring types grown through the mild winter using no-till farming systems in the traditional mixed farming zones with annual rainfall 350 to 600mm. The crop initially expanded after 1990 with the release of locally-bred varieties resistant to the blackleg fungus (Leptosphaeria maculans) which had decimated the fledgling crop in the 1970s. The crop can be profitable in its own right, but is risky in Australia’s dry and variable climate, and adoption was largely driven by the systems benefits that generate persistent cereal yield increases averaging 0.5 t/ha. Until recently, open-pollinated triazine-tolerant (TT) varieties represented 80% of the market and underpinned expansion into Western Australia and other areas as they facilitated control of otherwise intractable weeds. More recently, private breeding companies have expanded the choice of varieties to include TT, Round-up Ready, Clearfield, and RT-tolerant hybrid varieties, and hybrids now represent 50% of the market. Recent innovations in canola production include the development of dual-purpose canola (for grazing and grain) on Australia’s mixed farms, the expansion of canola into higher rainfall zones using later-maturing European winter canola, and ongoing research to improve production and reduce the risk of canola in the main low and medium rainfall areas. A new 5-yr national research initiative funded by Australia’s Grains Research and Development Corporation will focus on improving canola profitability through improved understanding of the physiology underpinning genotype x variety interactions to improve tactical agronomy decisions.