The Great Plains Canola Germplasm Evaluation SystemMichael J. Stamm, Kansas State University and Oklahoma State University

Table 2. 2006-2007 NWCVT Great Plains Locations

City State Code Elevation (m) Latitude Moisture (mm)

Akron Colorado COC 1420 40°16′N 381

Fruita Colorado COF 1401 39°06′N 203

Rocky Ford Colorado COR 1274 38°03′N 305

Walsh Colorado COW 1214 37°26′N 406

Yellow Jacket Colorado COY 2117 37°32′N 406

Garden City Kansas KSG 876 37°55′N 457

Hesston Kansas KSS 457 38°08′N 838

Hutchinson Kansas KSH 479 37°56′N 711

Manhattan Kansas KSM 324 39°12′N 813

Parsons Kansas KSP 274 37°21′N 1118

Columbia Missouri MOC 265 38°32′N 965

Lincoln Nebraska NEL 371 40°51′N 711

Sidney Nebraska NES 1447 41°13′N 406

Chickasha Oklahoma OKC 328 35°02′N 889

Enid Oklahoma OKE 374 36°26′N 864

Goodwell Oklahoma OKG 987 36°36′N 432

Lahoma Oklahoma OKL 403 36°23′N 864

Perkins Oklahoma OKP 279 35°59′N 940

Tipton Oklahoma OKT 388 34°26′N 787

Dumas Texas TXA 1115 35°52′N 483

Chillicothe Texas TXC 427 34°11′N 660

Lubbock Texas TXL 980 33°36′N 483 -4

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Figure 2. Average of the Differences in Survival Between Each Cultivar and the Mean of Ceres (=73%)

Table 1. 2006-2007 NWCVT Seed ProvidersCompany/University City Country/State

Deutsche Saatveredelung AG (DSV) Lippstadt Germany

Kansas State University Manhattan Kansas

Miles Enterprises Owensboro Kentucky

Monsanto Company St. Louis Missouri

Norddeutch Pflanzenzucht (NPZ) Holtsee Germany

Pioneer Hi-Bred International Johnston Iowa

Svalöv Weibull AB Svalöv Sweden

Technology Crops International Winston-Salem North Carolina

University of Arkansas Fayetteville Arkansas

Virginia State University Petersburg Virginia

IntroductionWinter canola production has increased in the southern Great Plains states of Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas in recent years. Nearly 60,000 acres were seeded in 2005, with additional acreage increases expected. The increases have been possible because of the results generated from the Great Plains Canola Germplasm Evaluation System, coordinated by K-State since 1994. Superior canola-quality lines are tested nationally in a three-tiered, multi-location yield trial system. Results have aided various breeding programs in making decisions on releasing and marketing of experimental varieties and hybrids.

HistorySince 1982, regional testing of oilseed rape has been conducted by K-State. However, the varieties developed at the time were not adapted to the harsh winter weather extremes of the southern Great Plains. In 1992, a breeding and research program was established at K-State to develop rapeseed as a high-value, alternative crop for Kansas. The Great Plains Canola Germplasm Evaluation System, consisting of two performance trials, was established in the fall of 1994 to evaluate public and private Brassica germplasm in the region. The Great Plains Canola Variety Trial (GPCVT), later called the Intermediate Canola Nursery, provided the first opportunity to evaluate experimental lines in a wide range of environments. The second trial was called the Advanced Canola Nursery (ACN). In 1997, a third trial called the Early Generation Screening Nursery (EGSN) was added to the system. In 1998, the ACN changed focus and was renamed the National Winter Canola Variety Trial (NWCVT). In 2005, K-State and Oklahoma State University combined available resources to jointly fund the regional breeding program and further the advancement and promotion of winter canola as a rotational crop with winter wheat.

ProceduresCrosses are performed each winter in the greenhouse to develop new breeding populations. Segregating populations are evaluated at one location and plants with superior traits are advanced from the F2 to F5 generations. Near canola-quality lines in the F6 generation are first evaluated in the EGSN. Since the year 2000, close to 700 experimental lines have been tested in the EGSN at three to four locations per year. In 2006-2007, the EGSN was planted at three locations with three replications of 70 entries. After one year of testing, promising lines are advanced to the GPCVT.

The 2006-2007 GPCVT was planted at 12 locations across the region. The trial is three replications of 38 experimental lines, including four commercial varieties as checks. Since the year 2000, approximately 270 experimental varieties have been evaluated in this yield trial. Varieties that excel in the GPCVT will spend no longer than two seasons in the trial before they are dropped or advanced to the NWCVT.

The NWCVT includes newly released cultivars, advanced experimental lines in the final stages of yield testing, and standard commercial varieties as checks. Results of the trial provide canola growers an aid for variety selection. This trial has expanded from 12 locations in six states in 1994-1995 to 53 locations in 25 states in 2006-2007. The majority of the locations are planted by cooperators who are interested in expanding canola production and increasing its visibility across the U.S. Entry numbers reached a record high in 2006-2007 with 57 entries planted, a 56 percent increase from the previous growing season. Twenty-one of the 57 entries are hybrids. Seed providers for the 2006-2007 NWCVT are listed in Table 1.

In order to evaluate and enhance the survivability of winter oilseed rape, trials must be located in areas where differential winter-kill occurs (Photo 1). Environments facing more or less severe winters than the main station at Manhattan, KS are chosen. Table 2 lists the trial locations for the Great Plains region. Elevation for testing environments ranges from 265 to 2117 meters above sea level, and moisture ranges from 203 to 1118 millimeters per year.

Traits of interest to the joint canola breeding program include stand establishment and winter survival, tolerance to sulfonylurea herbicide soil-residual, glyphosate herbicide resistance, yield potential, oil quality, disease and pest resistance, shatter resistance, reduced height, early flowering, forage quality, and grazing tolerance.

ResultsThree oilseed rape germplasm lines have been developed for use by winter rapeseed breeding programs. KS3579 was the first germplasm line released in 1996 and is low in erucic acid (<20 g kg-1) and high in glucosinolates (>200 µmol g-1). KS1701, a canola-quality (<20 g kg-1 erucic acid and <30 µmol g-1 glucosinolates) germplasm line, was released in 1997. Both of these germplasm lines expressed higher levels of winter survival than commercial lines adapted to the region at the time. KS7436 was released in 2006 by the K-State Field Crops Variety Review Committee. KS7436 has one percent higher oil content than most commercially available cultivars.

Four conventional, winter canola varieties have been publicly released. The first variety released was ‘Plainsman’ in 1998. ‘Wichita’ was released in 1999, and ‘Abilene’ in 2001. ‘Sumner’, a cultivar possessing tolerance to sulfonylurea herbicide carryover, was made public in 2003. Sumner can be planted following a spring application of the chlorsulfuron class of herbicides.

The level of adaptation to the region has improved as a result of the germplasm enhancement system. ‘Ceres’ was the most adapted variety when the program was initiated in 1994. Multiple adapted varieties are yielding nearly 300 pounds per acre more than Ceres (Figure 1). The average difference in survival between Wichita and the mean of Ceres is nearly 10 percent over 103 site/years of data (Figure 2).

AcknowledgementsMajor funding for the project is provided by a USDA-CSREES Special Research Grant - Great Plains Regional Canola Research Program, the Kansas Agricultural Experiment Station, the Oklahoma Agricultural Experiment Station, the K-State Agronomy Department, the Kansas Crop Improvement Association, and the K-State Canola Crop Performance Testing Program.

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Figure 1. Average of the Differences in Yield Between Each Cultivar and the Mean of Ceres (=1297 lbs/acre)

Observations (site/years)

0 to 20

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61 to 86

Observations (site/years)

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51 to 103

Photo 1. Genetic differences in winter survival at Enid, OK, 2006. Photo 2. 2005-06 National Winter Canola Variety Trial at Lahoma, OK.