Crop Production Research Priorities

Current research priorities for canola crop production

Every year, the Canola Council’s crop production and innovation (CP&I) team identifies the research areas with the most potential to increase yields and improve the sustainability and competitiveness of Canadian canola. These priorities are set annually in the spring through consultation with expert steering committees, the canola value chain and outcomes from the annual Canola Week.

The Crop Production Research Priorities are developed to support decisions within canola-focused research programs, such as the Canola Agronomic Research Program (CARP) and the Canola AgriScience Cluster. For CARP, these priorities can help potential applicants consider industry-wide importance of research topics, but final CARP funding decisions are driven by priorities established by the three provincial grower associations. Learn more about the CARP project selection process.

For more information about these priorities, contact the agronomy specialist listed under each heading.

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• Estimation of impact on yield based on severity of infection from verticillium stripe
• Discovery of novel genetic resistance against verticillium stripe
• Alternatives to current foliar applications and neonicotinoid seed treatment options for flea beetle control
• Genetic resistance to flea beetles
• Conducting Return on Investment (ROI) analysis on agronomic practices for improved decision making, and developing strategies to improve profitability with increased production costs
• Insect pest monitoring, surveillance and forecasting with continued focus on potential insect threats
• Understand the genetics of resistance and develop durable resistance sources against clubroot
• Use SNP/genomic methods of identifying clubroot pathotypes with differential hosts  
• Investigate current nutrient application rates by production areas to determine rate recommendations and 4R practices to increase canola yield

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Integrated pest management

Insect pests

Contact: Keith Gabert

• Insect pest monitoring, surveillance and forecasting with continued focus on potential insect threats
• Evaluate and identify alternative management tactics and tools for major insect pests
• Technology or techniques to improve foliar insecticide efficacy and limit off-target effects

Flea beetles

Contact: Keith Gabert

• Alternatives to current foliar applications and neonicotinoid seed treatment options for flea beetle control
• Genetic resistance to flea beetles
• Improving flea beetle parasitism and biocontrol options
• Tri-provincial survey on flea beetle populations
• Trap cropping, pheromone application or other strategies to interrupt feeding or mating of flea beetles

Weeds

Contact: Shawn Senko

• Controls for multiple mode resistant weed biotypes
• Investigate and identify novel integrated weed management techniques for enhanced and diversified weed control methods
• Weed monitoring and surveillance, modelling of weed species shifts in a changing climate

Verticillium stripe

Contact: Breanna Miller

• Estimation of impact on yield based on severity of infection from verticillium stripe
• Interaction and relationship between the blackleg and verticillium stripe
• Discovery of novel genetic resistance against verticillium stripe
• Role and impact of environment on V. Longisporum resistance
• Impact of harvest management techniques on disease severity
• Assessment of verticillium spore loads in Canadian soils and their correlation with disease severity 

Blackleg

Contact: Chris Manchur

• Explore innovative/sustainable blackleg resistance strategies (Ex: R-genes vs quantitative resistance) 
• Novel management techniques and technologies to effectively manage blackleg in tight canola rotations 
• Testing the effectiveness of resistant cultivars post-registration across the Prairies 
• Developing new/practical technologies to detect and monitor L. maculans inoculum under field conditions / Investigate spatial variability of blackleg races across realistic field conditions
• Potential predisposition of herbicide applications to impact early blackleg infection in Western Canada 

Clubroot

Contact: Kendra Reimert

• Understand the genetics of resistance and develop durable resistance sources against clubroot
• Use SNP/genomic methods of identifying clubroot pathotypes with differential hosts  
• Measure population dynamics and epidemiological factors influencing clubroot populations over time 
• Develop new techniques to help predict and avoid clubroot 
• Develop methods to culture Plasmodiophora brassicae in vitro (culturing or increasing inoculum without a plant host) 

Sclerotinia

Contact: Chris Manchur

• Identification of genes and defense pathways underlying quantitative resistance to S. sclerotiorum in canola
• Develop and improve sclerotinia stem rot risk forecasts and models for fields to evaluate risk
• Optimize foliar fungicide efficacy for control of sclerotinia stem rot. Evaluate economic threshold of application
• Development of sclerotinia stem rot resistance in canola by incorporating resistance into parental lines and hybrids

Liming

Contact: Keith Gabert

• Evaluate the impact of pH stratification and/or acid soils on crop production
• Technology for pH amendment in zero till production systems
• Liming or soil amendments as a clubroot management tool 

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Crop nutrient management

Contact: Warren Ward

• Investigate current nutrient application rates by production areas to determine rate recommendations and 4R practices to increase canola yield
• Quantify societal, environmental, and on-farm economics of 4R management adoption
• Update the impact of phosphorus and potassium levels on canola yield
• Investigate soil fertility impacts and interactions with canola diseases
• Evaluate the effectiveness of soil amendments for increasing nutrient use efficiency

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Sustainability

Contact: Ian Epp

• Understanding the production and environmental risks and benefits of tile drainage systems 
• Model canola’s carbon sequestration potential and investigate areas for improvement
• Determine the economic and production impact of climate change and landscape modification
• Discover water use efficiency improvements (ex. genetic, agronomic, irrigation management) 
• Evaluate the role of canola’s microbiome in carbon sequestration

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Plant Establishment

Contact: Jason Casselman

• Evaluating the effectiveness of seed rate sensor technology in automating seeding rate control
• Evaluating the effectiveness of seeding depth automation technology in improving canola germination and emergence
• Investigating the impact of agronomic factors, such as harrowing and tillage operations, on canola germination and yield potential
• Investigating the soil microbiome to understand and quantify the factors that impact canola germination, emergence and nutrient use efficiency

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Harvest management

Contact: Shawn Senko

• Harvest stubble management to improve establishment and water retention

Storage management

Contact: Breanna Miller

• Evaluation of alternative conditioning and drying methods/technologies and fan control systems for reduced energy requirements
• Development of best management practices for storage of Canola in large bins (>10,000 bu)
• Impact of seed respiration, elevated dockage, green seed and immature seed on storability
• Malathion breakdown and uptake by canola seeds in storage

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Precision agriculture

Contact: Jason Casselman

• Surveying and understanding commercial precision agricultural tools for predicting weather and pest impacts
• Developing best management practices for identifying and managing non-productive acres, including high emissions-risk saline soils
• Investigating the feasibility of managing field variability and providing in-season decision support through big data, climate/weather prediction models, and LiDAR/Landsat information
• Determining the optimal number of zones in field zone mapping and realistic yields for each zone
• Evaluating optical sprayer technology for spot spraying and rate controls
• Evaluating the use of near infrared analyzer and mapping technology for enhanced variable rate fertilizer application

Profitability

Contact: Jason Casselman

• Conducting Return on Investment (ROI) analysis on agronomic practices for improved decision making, and developing strategies to improve profitability with increased production costs
• Identifying opportunities with farm data management systems to create profitability maps from yield/nutrient maps and associate them with AI/machine learning analytics
• Conducting economic analyses of precision agriculture practices to evaluate their cost-effectiveness and ROI

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