|
Regina, Saskatchewan
April 18, 2002
Saskatchewan Wheat Pool
and Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada
(AAFC) have broken new ground, introducing a new crop to western
Canada that can be grown in hotter, drier regions of the
southern prairies.
Arid and Amulet, two new canola-quality Brassica juncea
varieties, are available to producers this growing season at
Pool locations throughout southern Saskatchewan. Since 1991, the
Pool and AAFC scientists at the Saskatoon Research Centre have
worked closely to develop these new products using selective
breeding techniques. Originally derived from mustard plants,
these new non-GMO varieties are more drought-resistant and
produce canola-quality oil and meal.
Arid and Amulet received registration and final regulatory
approval on April 19, 2002.
The Pool's Chief Executive Officer, Mayo Schmidt says, "Brassica
juncea will take its place alongside Argentine and Polish canola
as a profitable oilseed crop for western Canadian farmers.
Brassica juncea adapts well to the southern Prairie climate
providing better heat and drought tolerance and higher yields
than traditional canolas. We are extremely proud of our research
team, which has maximized its strategic partnership with AAFC
and its research scientists. It is these kinds of partnerships
that Canada needs to keep our farmers competitive in a tough
international marketplace."
Dr. David Wall, Acting Director of AAFC's Research Centre in
Saskatoon says, "This breakthrough underlines the importance of
Canada's agriculture and agri-food research, which supports the
development of new and innovative production methods and
cropping options. We are providing options to prairie producers
to promote growth in the agricultural sector, even in the face
of challenges regularly presented by Mother Nature, such as
drought."
The new crop expands the range of land suitable for canola
cultivation, providing an improved and expanded crop rotation to
farmers located in the brown soil zone, known as the Palliser
Triangle, which stretches from Weyburn to Saskatoon to
Lethbridge, the large southwest corner of Saskatchewan and
southeast Alberta.
"We're very excited about moving this program forward. It's a
perfect example of how government and industry can work together
to take projects of this size to market," says Monte Kesslering,
the Pool's Manager, Seed Business Unit. "Originally Brassica
juncea was intended primarily for producers in the brown soil
zones, but the crop is proving so adaptable that, in the future,
it may spread into traditional canola growing areas,
particularly since it has such a tremendous yield potential."
Backgrounder Information on Brassica juncea
- Saskatchewan Wheat Pool and Agriculture and Agri-Food
Canada (AAFC) have developed, in partnership, a new canola
species that will take its place alongside the two original
canola species as a profitable oilseed crop for western
Canadian farmers.
- The varieties, Arid and Amulet which are canola-quality
Brassica juncea, have higher drought and heat
resistance allowing this crop to adapt well in southern
Saskatchewan and provide better yield stability.
- In the past, what we call canola was made up of two
separate species:
- Brassica rapa or Polish canola, which is grown primarily
due to the early maturity; and
- Brassica napus or Argentine canola, which now dominates
the canola growing regions of the world.
- Now a third canola species is being added:
- Brassica juncea, which has now been accepted as a new
source of canola-quality oil and meal.
History:
- Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) began this project
in the 1980's.
- The Pool joined the project in 1991.
- Brassica juncea is the same species currently used to
produce oriental and brown mustard varieties.
- Much like the conversion of rapeseed to canola, the
conversion of mustard to canola required the reduction of
erucic acid and glucosinolate levels.
- The challenge with Brassica juncea was not only reducing
those two components, but also manipulating the crop to have
the same fatty acid profile in the oil as was found in
Brassica napus and Brassica rapa. SWP developed the desired
new fatty acid profile lines in 1995. Further improvements in
yield and oil content were also required.
- The end result is that growers now have a canola species
adapted to grow in the hotter, drier areas where they have had
difficulty growing traditional canola.
- The two new varieties available this spring are Arid and
Amulet. These varieties tend to be quite vigorous early on,
getting a good fast start and flowering early.
Characteristics:
- Heat and drought tolerance
- Better early vigour than other canola species
- Resistance to blackleg, the most serious disease of canola
- The pods do not shatter as easily as other traditional
canola varieties, providing producers the opportunity to
straight combine
- Yellow seedcoat (rather than brown or black) which creates
a meal with better appearance
- Less fibre than dark seedcoats, giving the meal better
digestibility, thereby making the meal a desirable ingredient
for feed
- Low in green seed
- Low in saturated fat
- Non-GMO
Saskatchewan Wheat Pool is a
publicly traded agri-business co-operative headquartered in
Regina, Saskatchewan. Anchored by a prairie-wide grain handling
and agri-products marketing network, the Pool channels prairie
production to end-use markets in North America and around the
world. These operations are complemented by value-added
businesses and strategic alliances, which allow the Pool to
leverage its pivotal position between prairie farmers and
destination customers. The Pool's Class B shares are listed on
the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol SWP.B.
Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada provides information, research
and technology, and policies and programs to achieve security of
the food system, health of the environment and innovation for
growth. Innovation through science and research is a cornerstone
of the Agricultural Policy Framework, a
federal-provincial-territorial action plan in partnership with
industry, to brand Canada as the world leader in food safety,
innovation and environmentally responsible production.
|
