Hybrid Winter Canola Trends in the USA.

Winter canola is an alternative broadleaf crop grown on an increased number of hectares across the U.S. Since 2003, winter canola production has increased from a few thousand to about 100,000 or more hectares annually. Winter canola is being introduced in many areas through the use of open-pollinated (OP) cultivars. Although OP cultivars still dominate the U.S. winter market, hybrid cultivars are gaining acceptance and have been particularly popular in high-yield environments. Advantages to hybrids include larger seed size for planting, and heterosis in grain yield and oil percentage. Disadvantages include the higher expense of seed and limited adaptation to stressed environments, especially low rainfall areas. Using data from the National Winter Canola Variety Trial, hybrid performance under select high- and low-yield environments was evaluated. Locally adapted OP cultivars have been shown to be competitive in yield with hybrids. Across 32 site/years, the relative yield of the OP cultivar, ‘Riley,’ was 117% of mean yield compared to 119% and 114% for the hybrids ‘Safran’ and ‘Sitro’, respectively. Hybrids cultivars will continue to penetrate the U.S. winter canola market; however, OP cultivars continue to show value. To address the hybrid adaptability question locally, a hybrid breeding project has been initiated by Kansas State University.