Source: UNIV OF IDAHO submitted to NRP
IMPROVING CANOLA PRODUCTION AND PRODUCTION SYSTEMS WITH GENETIC AND AGRONOMIC ADVANCES TO INCREASE CANOLA ACREAGE IN THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST
Sponsoring Institution
National Institute of Food and Agriculture
Project Status
COMPLETE
Funding Source
OTHER GRANTS
Reporting Frequency
Annual
Accession No.
1020814
Grant No.
2019-38624-30312
Cumulative Award Amt.
$293,000.00
Proposal No.
2019-04158
Multistate No.
(N/A)
Project Start Date
Sep 1, 2019
Project End Date
Aug 31, 2021
Grant Year
2019
Program Code
[HW]- Supplemental and Alternative Crops
Recipient Organization
UNIV OF IDAHO
875 PERIMETER DRIVE
MOSCOW,ID 83844-9803
Performing Department
Plant Sciences
Non Technical Summary
Pacific Northwest (PNW) dryland agriculture is dominated by small-grain cereals. Few adapted rotational crops are available and there are increasing concerns about the long-term sustainability of monoculture cereal production. Canola yields in the PNW are the highest in the US. However, this region also produces the highest wheat yields, so convincing growers to try new crops can be difficult. This project will increase canola productivity and grower profitability by: (1) developing superior cultivars with higher yield and resistance to biotic and abiotic stresses; (2) identifying and quantifying economic and environmental rotational benefits of canola in cereal rotations, and developing multi-year enterprise budgets; (3) Determine effects of row spacing, seeding rate, and planting date on yield and oil content of hybrid and OP spring canola; (4) Quantify yield loss due to blackleg infestation, and determine economic thresholds for justifying fungicidal disease control, and continue to determine the population structure of Leptosphaeria maculans and investigate the epidemiology of L. maculans to aid in developing disease control strategies; and (5) continue compiling a comprehensive PNW Canola Production Manual to allow growers and industry to make decisions to best utilize canola in their crop rotation systems. We will provide producers with best management practices to maximize canola performance and profitability. Results from this project will encourage more growers to include canola in their cereal rotations, offering more crop diversity and greater long-term farm stability, and environmental stewardship.
Animal Health Component
80%
Research Effort Categories
Basic
20%
Applied
80%
Developmental
(N/A)
Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)Subject of Investigation (SOI)Field of Science (FOS)Percent
2011848108150%
2051848116015%
2051848102015%
2051848301010%
2051848114010%
Knowledge Area
205 - Plant Management Systems; 201 - Plant Genome, Genetics, and Genetic Mechanisms;

Subject Of Investigation
1848 - Canola;

Field Of Science
1160 - Pathology; 1081 - Breeding; 1140 - Weed science; 3010 - Economics; 1020 - Physiology;
Goals / Objectives
Development of genetically adapted cultivars with high yield potential and resistance or tolerance to biotic and abiotic stress factors that prevail in the PNW. The region has many different eco-environments in the region, including very dry (less than 12 inches of annual rainfall, requiring summer fallow to raise any crop), to intermediate and high rainfall (greater than 24 inches of annual rainfall where annual cropping is most common), and irrigated production. No other canola growing region in the world has such a diverse range of production environments.Qualification and quantification of canola rotational benefits. PNW growers have become accustomed to high yielding wheat and high wheat returns, that canola often does not achieve. The value and positive impacts canola has on wheat rotations and productivity need to be qualified and quantified to allow farmers to make informed decisions about using a systems approach, rather than making decisions on a year-to-year basis.Reduced risk of canola crop failure or loss due to abiotic stress factors such as cold, heat, and drought. Although better genetics must be incorporated into new cultivars for better resistance to abiotic stress factors, there is a strong agronomic component that can impact crop productivity and survival.OBJECTIVESObjective 1: Develop and identify canola cultivars that afford the highest productivity and greatest profitability for different agronomic zones in the PNW. Objective 2. Quantify the effects of growing canola in rotations with wheat in the PNW.Objective 3. Determine the effects of row spacing and seeding rate on yield and oil content of hybrid and OP spring canola.Objective 4. Determine the effect of blackleg (Leptosphaeria maculans) infection on canola yield, and the effectiveness of seed and foliar fungicide treatments to control blackleg disease. In addition to continue investigating the epidemiology of L. maculans in the PNW region.Objective 5. Produce and update a Pacific Northwest Canola Production Manual.
Project Methods
Objective 1: We will use a wide range of breeding methodologies to develop and test new cultivars of canola that are genetically superior and highly adapted to the PNW region. Better-adapted cultivars will return greater profit to growers, and hence increase canola acreage in the region. Our breeding methods are primarily based on hybridization between selected parents, followed by recurrent phenotypic selection and inbreeding. We will utilize mutagenesis, microsporagenesis, and intergeneric hybridization. We will also expand on existing high-throughput molecular marker-assisted selections (MAS) and quantitative trait loci to identify novel genes and genotypes, thus accelerating future cultivar development. Cultivar development will emphasize adaptation to PNW agronomic zones. Selection criteria will include high seed yield and seed oil content, improved oil and seed meal quality. We will utilize associated genomics research to aid in marker assisted selection. In addition we will use transgenic technology to develop cold- and drought-tolerant canola varieties.Seed companies and breeding groups worldwide will be invited to submit winter and spring canola cultivars and advanced breeding lines for performance testing throughout the PNW to identify new, improved cultivars for commercial release in the varied climates and environments that exist throughout the PNW.Objective 2. We will estimate the basic economics of growing canola compared to other potential rotational crops and wheat in northern Idaho, Washington, and Oregon. We will also determine the rotation effects of wheat grown after canola by comparing productivity of wheat crops following canola to productivity of monoculture wheat production. These trials will be grown on fields with a long history of monoculture cereal grain production in a continuous cropping or fallow-based system, with few alternative crops available. Economic returns over two years of crop production from all rotation combinations (e.g., winter wheat-winter wheat, winter canola-winter wheat, winter wheat-spring wheat, winter canola-spring wheat, winter wheat-fallow-winter wheat, winter canola-fallow-winter wheat, etc.) will be calculated to compare the effects of including winter canola with other possible rotations.Objective 3: Two Brassica napus spring canola hybrids (HyCLASS-930 RR and InVigor-L140P LL) and two OP (Empire and Cara) cultivars with regional adaptability will be evaluated in field trials with three row spacing widths (7-inch, 14-inch and 21-inch rows), two seeding rates (350,000 and 500,000 live seed acre-1) at Genesee and Moscow, ID. Each cultivar/seeding rate combination will be planted using a double disc opener plot drill. The experimental design at each of the two locations will be a four-replicate strip-split-plot design with row spacing being assigned to strips, cultivars assigned as main-plots and seeding rates assigned as sub-plots within cultivars. Plot size will be 16 x 10 feet. Crop management will be according to the normal practices at each location, including the use of appropriate seed treatments, fertilizers, herbicides, and insecticides. All plots will be visually assessed days to 50% bloom, plant height after flowering, and lodging. At the appropriate stage of maturity, plots will be combine harvested. The harvested seed will be dried in heated ovens set at 110o F prior to being weighed. A subsample of seed will be taken from each plot to determine seed oil content using a nuclear magnetic resonance analyzer.Objective 4: The effect of blackleg infestation on canola yield, and the effectiveness of seed and foliar fungicides on blackleg incidence and the economic returns from fungicides will be examined in two winter canola field trials in northern Idaho. Each study will be planted at three locations in northern Idaho in areas with high blackleg incidence. Crop management will be according to the normal practices at each location, including the use of appropriate seed treatments, fertilizers, herbicides, and insecticides. In the first study, winter canola cultivars with known and varying degrees of blackleg resistance will be evaluated in replicated field trials where blackleg disease is controlled by fall and spring application of foliar fungicides. The cultivars will be grown with four treatments; (1) no fungicide control; (2) fall fungicide application; (3) spring fungicide application; and (4) fall and spring fungicide application. In the second study, 4 winter canola cultivars will be grown in field trials with and without seed fungicide treatments. Blackleg leaf spot incidence and stem canker will be measured on all plots. At maturity, plots will be combine harvested and seed weighed. A subsample of seed will be used to determine seed oil content.Previously collected isolates of L. maculans from Washington and Idaho will be characterized using a series of seven unique PCR primers and a collection of plant differentials to identify the presence or absence of 12 avirulence genes (AvrLm1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 11, LepR1, LepR2 and LepR3) within the population. This will include completing a collection of over 130 isolates from Idaho in a previous survey and approximately 200 isolates collected in eastern Washington in 2017 and 2018. Isolates also will be screened for mating-type genes to better understand the population dynamics.Objective 5. We will compile and make available a comprehensive PNW Canola Production Manual to growers and local industry to allow them to make decisions on how best to utilize winter and spring canola in their existing crop rotation systems.

Progress 09/01/19 to 08/31/21

Outputs
Target Audience:Target audience includes stakeholders involved in canola production in the dryland, rainfed areas of the inland Pacific Northwest (PNW). This includes farmers, crop commodity groups, crop consultants, and the agriculture industry. Other audience members include researchers from both the public and private sectors, and those individuals or groups interested in canola production in the PNW. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Two graduate students conducted reserach in plant breeding/genetics, molecular genetics and plant pathology. Five undergraduate students were trained in aspects of laboratory, greenhouse and field trials as full-time employees over the summer and part-time during the school year. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?It is crucial that the knowledge generated by this project is delivered to local growers and industry so that innovative ideas can be readily adaopted by the growers to increase acreage. Over the past year we presented information on canola at Oilseed Workshops (190 attendees) and a virtual Cereal School (120). There were also more than 11 presentation given at seven field days across the PNW (150 attendees). Due to the ongoing pandemic, there were fewer events than normal and participation was below normal for all events. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Nothing Reported

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Objective 1: Develop and identify canola cultivars that afford the highest productivity and greatest profitability for different agronomic zones in the PNW. The winter and spring canola and rapeseed breeding programs at the University of Idaho continued to develop better genotypes for release as superior cultivars in the region. Over the reporting period, new parentcross combinations were produced and F1 seed produced in the greenhouse. In the winter canola program, 31 lines F4 lines were tested in the field and eight lines were selected to advance to F5 trials. Twelve F6 lines were evaluated at two sites and three lines were evaluated in regional trials at seven locations. In the spring canola program, 25 F4 lines were tested in the field at two locations, with five selected to advance to yield trials in 2022. There were 40 white-flowered Brassica napus F6 lines tested at two locations, with 11 selected to advance in the upcoming year. Three F6 spring canola lines were tested in regional trials at seven locations. Full results of field trials will be available at www.cals.uidaho.edu/brassica/. Other major activities have included using a transgenic approach to exploit novel and durable pattern recognition receptor (PPR) type resistance genes to improve resistance to blackleg. Two PPR genes (Br1033 and Br8468) have been successfully cloned that are highly included by Leptosphaeria maculans, the fungal pathogen that causes blackleg. More than ten transgenic lines have been produced in the cultivar Athena. Seeds have been increased for initial pathogen assays in the greenhouse. The introduction of these genes into the winter canola Amanda has been initiated. Objective 2. Quantify the effects of growing canola in rotations with wheat in the PNW. Grew and harvested winter wheat from the second year of a two-site rotation trial that had previously produced four winter and four spring rotation crops. The rotation trial is the first in the eastern Palouse region to compare side-by-side the impact of spring and winter rotation crops. Previous trials focused on either spring or winter crops separately. Specific results of the study are still pending. Objective 3. Determine the effects of row spacing and seeding rate on yield and oil content of hybrid and OP spring canola. This study was initiated as a result of a grower's survey that showed these were the most important questions that needed to be addressed. A third year of this study was completed at two field locations. As with all trials, yields in the row spacing and seeding rate trial were below normal due to extreme drought. A higher seeding rate of 13 seeds/sq ft resulted in a significantly higher yield than the lower seeding rate of 8 seeds/sq ft. While increasingly wider row spacing resulted in significantly higher yields in the two previous years, in the third year of the study, there was not a significant difference. However, the overall plot yield was substantially lower in the third growing season due to severe drought. Objective 4. Determine the effect of blackleg (Leptosphaeria maculans) infection on canola yield, and the effectiveness of seed and foliar fungicide treatments to control blackleg disease. In addition to continue investigating the epidemiology of L. maculans in the PNW region. Blackleg of canola is a new disease in the PNW region. Seed treatments and foliar fungicides were tested in winter canola field trials at three locations in northern Idaho. Fungicide seed treatments did not influence the disease incidence or severity. However, foliar fungicides applied in the spring or fall significantly reduced the incidence of blackleg. Application in both the fall and spring resulted in slightly better control when disease incidence in the non-treated control was moderate (~60%). Despite the reduced incidence, there was no significant yield response. Spore release was monitored at two locations to gauge when spores are moving to optimize fungicide spray timing. Spores were observed to be released in April to early June as well as in September and October at one of the two locations. Objective 5. Produce and update a Pacific Northwest Canola Production Manual. Work on the PNW Canola Production Manual continued. The outline has been completed, three chapters drafted and edited and one has been submitted for peer review. When completed, the manual will be produced in hard copy and electronic to allow the widest possible access to growers and other interested stakeholders.

Publications

  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2020 Citation: Esser, A.D., J. Brown and J.B. Davis, 2020. Spring canola and chickpea value in a cereal grain rotation. Presented at the WSU Annual Field Day, 2020.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2020 Citation: Brown, J, Z. Zhang, H. Dong, J. Kuhl, J.B. Davis, and A. Job, 2020. A new SNP genomic selection system to determine parent and cross worth indices in canola (Brassica napus) breeding. EUCARPIA Meeting 2020.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2020 Citation: Zhang C., A. W.A. Craine, R.J. McGee, G.J. Vandemark, J.B. Davis, J. Brown, S.H. Hulbert and S. Sankaran, 2020. Image Based Phenotyping of Flowering Intensity in Cool Season Crops. Sensors 2020, 20, 1450
  • Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2021 Citation: Madsen, I.J. 2021. Plant Density Variation Within Large Scale Variety Trials. p. 56. In: 2021 Dryland Field Day Abstracts: Highlights of Research Progress. Dept. of Crop and Soil Sciences Tech Report 20-1, WSU, Pullman, WA.
  • Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2021 Citation: Madsen, I.J. 2021. Spring and Winter Canola Large-Scale Variety Trials. p. 57. In: 2021 Dryland Field Day Abstracts: Highlights of Research Progress. Dept. of Crop and Soil Sciences Tech Report 20-1, WSU, Pullman, WA.
  • Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2021 Citation: Madsen, I.J., and I. Burke. 2021. Washington Oilseed Cropping Systems Extension and Outreach. p. 58. In: 2021 Dryland Field Day Abstracts: Highlights of Research Progress. Dept. of Crop and Soil Sciences Tech Report 20-1, WSU, Pullman, WA.
  • Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2021 Citation: Ford, J., and Madsen, I.J. 2021. Foliar Applied Plant Growth Regulators as a Method for Improving Winter Canola Winter Survival. p. 60. In: 2021 Dryland Field Day Abstracts: Highlights of Research Progress. Dept. of Crop and Soil Sciences Tech Report 20-1, WSU, Pullman, WA.
  • Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2021 Citation: Ford, J., and Madsen, I.J. 2021. Companion Crops as a Method for Improving Winter Canola Stand Establishment and Winter Survival. p. 61. In: 2021 Dryland Field Day Abstracts: Highlights of Research Progress. Dept. of Crop and Soil Sciences Tech Report 20-1, WSU, Pullman, WA.
  • Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2021 Citation: Ford, J., and Madsen, I.J. 2021. Winter Survival Results from Ralston Winter Canola Variety Trial. p. 65. In: 2021 Dryland Field Day Abstracts: Highlights of Research Progress. Dept. of Crop and Soil Sciences Tech Report 20-1, WSU, Pullman, WA.
  • Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2021 Citation: Yearout-Janowski, K., Davis, J. B., and Schroeder, K. L. Determining optimal foliar fungicide application timing for control of blackleg disease of winter canola and tracking Leptosphaeria maculans spore release in northern Idaho. In: 2021 Dryland Field Day Abstracts: Highlights of Research Progress (pp. 58-59). Idaho Agricultural Experiment Station, Technical Report UI-2021-1.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2021 Citation: Yearout-Janowski, K., Davis, J. B., and Schroeder, K. L. 2021. Foliar fungicide application timing for optimal control of blackleg in winter canola in northern Idaho. American Phytopathological Society Annual Meeting, Aug. 10-14, virtual meeting.


Progress 09/01/19 to 08/31/20

Outputs
Target Audience:The target audience for this project includes canola producers, individuals assocaited with the canola industry, plant breeders and other research scientists. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Two graduate students conducted reserach in plant breeding/genetics, molecular genetics and plant pathology. Five undergraduate students were trained in aspects of laboratory, greenhouse and field trials as full-time employees over the summer and part-time during the school year. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?It is crucial that the knowledge generated by this project is delivered to local growers and industry so that innovative ideas can be readily adaopted by the growers to increase acreage. Over the past year we presented information on canola at Oilseed Workshops (190 attendees) and a virtual Cereal School (120). There were also more than 11 presentation given at seven field days across the PNW (150 attendees). Due to the ongoing pandemic, there were fewer events than normal and participation was below normal for all events. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?We will continue to complete projects in each of the Objectives listed for this project.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Objective 1: Develop and identify canola cultivars that afford the highest productivity and greatest profitability for different agronomic zones in the PNW. The winter and spring canola and rapeseed breeding programs at the University of Idaho continued to develop better genotypes for release as superior cultivars in the region. Over the reporting period, new parent-cross combinations were produced and F1 seed produced in the greenhouse. In the winter canola program, 31 lines F4 lines were tested in the field and eight lines were selected to advance to F5 trials. Twelve F6 lines were evaluated at two sites and three lines were evaluated in regional trials at seven locations. In the spring canola program, 25 F4 lines were tested in the field at two locations, with five selected to advance to yield trials in 2022. There were 40 white-flowered Brassica napus F6 lines tested at two locations, with 11 selected to advance in the upcoming year. Three F6 spring canola lines were tested in regional trials at seven locations. Full results of field trials will be available at www.cals.uidaho.edu/brassica/. Other major activities have included using a transgenic approach to exploit novel and durable pattern recognition receptor (PPR) type resistance genes to improve resistance to blackleg. Two PPR genes (Br1033 and Br8468) have been successfully cloned that are highly included by Leptosphaeria maculans, the fungal pathogen that causes blackleg. More than ten transgenic lines have been produced in the cultivar Athena. Seeds have been increased for initial pathogen assays in the greenhouse. The introduction of these genes into the winter canola Amanda has been initiated. Objective 2. Quantify the effects of growing canola in rotations with wheat in the PNW. Grew and harvested winter wheat from the second year of a two-site rotation trial that had previously produced four winter and four spring rotation crops. The rotation trial is the first in the eastern Palouse region to compare side-by-side the impact of spring and winter rotation crops. Previous trials focused on either spring or winter crops separately. Specific results of the study are still pending. Objective 3. Determine the effects of row spacing and seeding rate on yield and oil content of hybrid and OP spring canola. This study was initiated as a result of a grower's survey that showed these were the most important questions that needed to be addressed. A third year of this study was completed at two field locations. As with all trials, yields in the row spacing and seeding rate trial were below normal due to extreme drought. A higher seeding rate of 13 seeds/sq ft resulted in a significantly higher yield than the lower seeding rate of 8 seeds/sq ft. While increasingly wider row spacing resulted in significantly higher yields in the two previous years, in the third year of the study, there was not a significant difference. However, the overall plot yield was substantially lower in the third growing season due to severe drought. Objective 4. Determine the effect of blackleg (Leptosphaeria maculans) infection on canola yield, and the effectiveness of seed and foliar fungicide treatments to control blackleg disease. In addition to continue investigating the epidemiology of L. maculans in the PNW region. Blackleg of canola is a new disease in the PNW region. Seed treatments and foliar fungicides were tested in winter canola field trials at three locations in northern Idaho. Fungicide seed treatments did not influence the disease incidence or severity. However, foliar fungicides applied in the spring or fall significantly reduced the incidence of blackleg. Application in both the fall and spring resulted in slightly better control when disease incidence in the non-treated control was moderate (~60%). Despite the reduced incidence, there was no significant yield response. Spore release was monitored at two locations to gauge when spores are moving to optimize fungicide spray timing. Spores were observed to be released in April to early June as well as in September and October at one of the two locations. Objective 5. Produce and update a Pacific Northwest Canola Production Manual. Work on the PNW Canola Production Manual continued. The outline has been completed, three chapters drafted and edited and one has been submitted for peer review. When completed, the manual will be produced in hard copy and electronic to allow the widest possible access to growers and other interested stakeholders.

Publications

  • Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2021 Citation: Madsen, I.J. 2021. Plant Density Variation Within Large Scale Variety Trials. p. 56. In: 2021 Dryland Field Day Abstracts: Highlights of Research Progress. Dept. of Crop and Soil Sciences Tech Report 20-1, WSU, Pullman, WA.
  • Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2021 Citation: Madsen, I.J. 2021. Spring and Winter Canola Large-Scale Variety Trials. p. 57. In: 2021 Dryland Field Day Abstracts: Highlights of Research Progress. Dept. of Crop and Soil Sciences Tech Report 20-1, WSU, Pullman, WA.
  • Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2021 Citation: Madsen, I.J., and I. Burke. 2021. Washington Oilseed Cropping Systems Extension and Outreach. p. 58. In: 2021 Dryland Field Day Abstracts: Highlights of Research Progress. Dept. of Crop and Soil Sciences Tech Report 20-1, WSU, Pullman, WA.
  • Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2021 Citation: Ford, J., and Madsen, I.J. 2021. Foliar Applied Plant Growth Regulators as a Method for Improving Winter Canola Winter Survival. p. 60. In: 2021 Dryland Field Day Abstracts: Highlights of Research Progress. Dept. of Crop and Soil Sciences Tech Report 20-1, WSU, Pullman, WA.
  • Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2021 Citation: Ford, J., and Madsen, I.J. 2021. Companion Crops as a Method for Improving Winter Canola Stand Establishment and Winter Survival. p. 61. In: 2021 Dryland Field Day Abstracts: Highlights of Research Progress. Dept. of Crop and Soil Sciences Tech Report 20-1, WSU, Pullman, WA.
  • Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2021 Citation: Ford, J., and Madsen, I.J. 2021. Winter Survival Results from Ralston Winter Canola Variety Trial. p. 65. In: 2021 Dryland Field Day Abstracts: Highlights of Research Progress. Dept. of Crop and Soil Sciences Tech Report 20-1, WSU, Pullman, WA.
  • Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2021 Citation: Yearout-Janowski, K., Davis, J. B., and Schroeder, K. L. Determining optimal foliar fungicide application timing for control of blackleg disease of winter canola and tracking Leptosphaeria maculans spore release in northern Idaho. In: 2021 Dryland Field Day Abstracts: Highlights of Research Progress (pp. 58-59). Idaho Agricultural Experiment Station, Technical Report UI-2021-1.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Awaiting Publication Year Published: 2021 Citation: 5. Yearout-Janowski, K., Davis, J. B., and Schroeder, K. L. 2021. Foliar fungicide application timing for optimal control of blackleg in winter canola in northern Idaho. American Phytopathological Society Annual Meeting, Aug. 10-14, virtual meeting.