Canola growers will have the option this season of using the first cultivar to offer double-resistance to clubroot. It was developed by ALES crop scientist Habibur Rahman in partnership with Crop Production Services and NSREC.
Call it a one-two punch combination!
Crop scientist Habibur Rahman has created the first hybrid canola cultivar that offers double-resistance to clubroot, the crop's most significant disease threat.
Developed in partnership with Crop Production Services (CPS) and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council, the new hybrid cultivar has been approved and registered by CPS under the Proven Seed brand with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, and is now available to growers for the 2016 growing season.
It carries a resistance gene from Mendel, a European winter canola cultivar, and a second gene from an exotic germplasm. The canola breeding program, led by Habibur Rahman, began working on these genes in 2004 in greenhouses, in the fields on South Campus and in clubroot-infested fields in Leduc and St. Albert. They studied more than 250 sources of resistance before determining the best two.
They worked on the resistance sources separately at first, locating the resistance genes in the chromosomes and developing separate individual canola lines based on the resistance of each source.
"With our partners at Crop Production Services, we then combined them to create this hybrid," explained Rahman.
The new canola hybrid cultivar, which combined the two genes, offers double resistance, as opposed to all previous clubroot-resistant cultivars which only offer single resistance.
"We expect this hybrid will offer growers more durable resistance," said Bruce Harrison, CPS' director of research, development and innovation.
Clubroot poses a serious threat to canola production in Alberta. The disease, which infects roots and restricts the flow of water and nutrients to leaves stems and pods, is spreading. Originally discovered in Alberta in 2003, nine new strains of the disease that can overcome current resistant lines were found in the province.
"It's common for single gene resistance to break down in time and becomes susceptible," explained Rahman. "But here, with this new cultivar, if one gene breaks down, then another guard is there."
"CPS has invested deeply in western Canadian-based research and development that provides growers with the very best in genetics to combat serious crop diseases. The U of A team has been great to work with and we are proud of the results and future possibilities this collaboration has created," adds Harrison.
The new canola hybrid cultivar is the first registered hybrid coming from the Collaborative Research and Development grant obtained in 2013 by Rahman and Crop Production Services.
The research was also supported by the Alberta Crop Industry Development Fund (ACIDF), the Alberta Canola Producers Commission and later, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada.
Crop scientist Habibur Rahman has created the first hybrid canola cultivar that offers double-resistance to clubroot, the crop's most significant disease threat.
Developed in partnership with Crop Production Services (CPS) and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council, the new hybrid cultivar has been approved and registered by CPS under the Proven Seed brand with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, and is now available to growers for the 2016 growing season.
It carries a resistance gene from Mendel, a European winter canola cultivar, and a second gene from an exotic germplasm. The canola breeding program, led by Habibur Rahman, began working on these genes in 2004 in greenhouses, in the fields on South Campus and in clubroot-infested fields in Leduc and St. Albert. They studied more than 250 sources of resistance before determining the best two.
They worked on the resistance sources separately at first, locating the resistance genes in the chromosomes and developing separate individual canola lines based on the resistance of each source.
"With our partners at Crop Production Services, we then combined them to create this hybrid," explained Rahman.
The new canola hybrid cultivar, which combined the two genes, offers double resistance, as opposed to all previous clubroot-resistant cultivars which only offer single resistance.
"We expect this hybrid will offer growers more durable resistance," said Bruce Harrison, CPS' director of research, development and innovation.
Clubroot poses a serious threat to canola production in Alberta. The disease, which infects roots and restricts the flow of water and nutrients to leaves stems and pods, is spreading. Originally discovered in Alberta in 2003, nine new strains of the disease that can overcome current resistant lines were found in the province.
"It's common for single gene resistance to break down in time and becomes susceptible," explained Rahman. "But here, with this new cultivar, if one gene breaks down, then another guard is there."
"CPS has invested deeply in western Canadian-based research and development that provides growers with the very best in genetics to combat serious crop diseases. The U of A team has been great to work with and we are proud of the results and future possibilities this collaboration has created," adds Harrison.
The new canola hybrid cultivar is the first registered hybrid coming from the Collaborative Research and Development grant obtained in 2013 by Rahman and Crop Production Services.
The research was also supported by the Alberta Crop Industry Development Fund (ACIDF), the Alberta Canola Producers Commission and later, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada.