Increase canola protein inclusion rates in monogastric animal feeds, followed by canola germplasm that produces protein better suited for human diets, and finally specialty varieties that produce protein for specific technical applications.
The proposed research will deliver knowledge and tools to improve utilization of existing clubroot resistant cultivars and to accelerate the discovery of new clubroot resistance genes, with the anticipation of exploring broad-spectrum and durable clubroot resistance that will be highly beneficial to breeders and growers of canola and other Brassica crops.
The pathogen (P. brassicae) populations in western Canada is evolving rapidly. It is extremely important to have canola cultivars with new sources of resistance avialabe to canola producers in Saskatchewan.
Our knowledge of pathogen virulence genes and plant race specific resistance (R) genes in the Leptosphaeria-Brassica pathosystem has tremendously advanced in the past two decades.
Growing clubroot-resistant (CR) cultivars in appropriate rotations remains the most effective solution to the long-term management of clubroot disease.
The ability to integrate stable clubroot resistance into new germplasm is needed to protect the economy while ensuring sustainability and growth in canola growing regions.
Crop residues supply critically needed carbon (C) and nutrients to the soil. These residue-derived resources support plant growth and the formation of soil organic matter, a cornerstone of soil health.
This project aims to contribute to the development of elite canola varieties that are resistant to pathogen infection for the betterment of the canola industry.
This project will help improve canola production efficiency and improve the national and global competitiveness of the Canadian canola industry (in the long term).
Improving crop tolerance to drought is essential for maintaining yield stability under the continued threat of climate change and a key factor for achieving sustainability in agriculture by saving water resource usage. Molecular breeding focusing on monogenic transgenic intervention has so far achieved limited success in the development of drought tolerance in crops. This project focuses on a gene family that is the basis of quantitative trait loci (QTL) affecting drought tolerance in Brassicaceae.
This has the potential to open up plant breeding to a whole new way to identify germplasm variation in breeding programs.
Clubroot disease in canola and other brassicas is caused by the pathogen Plasmodiophora brassicae. Researchers at the University of Saskatchewan conducted a five-year study to identify and characterize effector proteins and their role in the establishment and progression of clubroot disease.
