Pod shattering New variety would follow Viterra’s juncea canola shatter-tolerant line released this spring
DuPont Pioneer plans to introduce a new line of canola as early as next spring that it says can better withstand the strong winds that ravaged crops last harvest.
The company’s non-genetically modified shatter tolerance trait is going through its final evaluation stage this summer.
The trait is being tested in 30 product advancement trials and 25 product knowledge plots in Western Canada.
It is the last phase of what is typically a 10-year process to develop a new hybrid.
Greg Stokke, business director of Pioneer’s Western Canada commercial unit, said the line could reach the market next spring if it performs well in the trials and is subsequently registered.
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“If (it) yields like we think (it has) potential to, then we’ll come to market potentially next year,” he said.
The trait is expected to allow growers to better straight cut their canola and greatly expand the window in which it can be swathed.
“The problem today with canola is typically it is all ready to swath at the same time,” said Stokke.
Rick White, general manager of the Canadian Canola Growers Association, expects strong demand for the new trait if it performs as billed.
“This would be fairly high on the (wish) list because there can be substantial losses from shattering,” he said.
Farmers often lose valuable seeds due to pod shattering during swathing, while the crop is lying in the swath or during combining.
“There are seeds that are falling out all the time, so this could help increase yields,” said White.
“There is shattering that occurs even in the standing crop with strong winds. We experienced that last year.”
Losses can range from a few percent of the crop to 50 percent depending on weather conditions and how ripe it is when the damage occurs.
“I think all farmers would be interested in this, particularly if the shatter resistance is enough that farmers can straight combine standing canola,” said White.
Viterra launched a juncea canola hybrid this spring that also boasts tolerance to pod shattering. White doesn’t know of any other products on the market with that trait.
Stokke said the trait performed well at trial sites that were hit by the powerful harvest winds last summer.
“This (variety) looked very, very good while the other ones you could see the shattering,” he said.
The trait would initially be packaged with the Roundup Ready trait, but it could soon be paired with a number of other traits the company has in the development pipeline.
Stokke said Pioneer plans to start offering the LibertyLink herbicide tolerance system in its genetics as early as 2015.
“It’s just another option for farmers to manage their weed control,” he said.
The company is planning on a 2016 launch of its Optimum GLY canola, a new glyphosate tolerance trait that will give growers a broader window of application and allow them to use higher rates of the herbicide.
Pioneer is maintaining its Clearfield herbicide tolerance program, while other companies are dropping it.
“We don’t know what the future holds in terms of weed management,” said Stokke.
White said new herbicide tolerant lines of canola are welcome.
“It gives (farmers) agronomic options that they may not have had before and that could impact the area under which canola gets seeded,” he said.
