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This project is in progress, but aims to identify genotypes with enhanced resilience to drought + high temperature that can be used as parents for canola hybrids in commercial use and to provide fundamental knowledge and insights on mechanisms adopted by plants to cope with drought + high temperature which are linked to reliance.
Project Summary
Periods of drought, associated to high temperatures have a negative impact on plant productivity, especially if occurring during the reproductive stage of development. Canola plants are vulnerable to these stresses, as observed in 2021, when heat and water scarcity in the Prairies adversely affected plant’s yield; canola production dropped by about 40%, reaching the lowest values since 2007 (Statistics Canada, 2021). In Manitoba alone, it is estimated that drought in 2021 led to $75 million in crop sales losses. Due to climate change, recurrence of extreme drought and high temperatures is expected in the future, challenging crop production and requiring the urgent development of varieties resilient to both types of stress that growers can use in the field. Therefore, the identification of germplasm with improved water use efficiency and combined resilience to both high temperatures and drought would benefit growers and producers, and the overall canola industry.
Using a chemical-based method to mimic water stress under hydroponic conditions, this research team has previously screened two doubled haploid populations (total 260 genotypes) produced from crosses between drought tolerant and drought susceptible parents. Through this approach we have identified genotypes with varied degrees of drought tolerance.
This research plans to select the 10 most drought susceptible and the 10 most drought tolerant genotypes and assess the combined effect of high temperatures and drought treatments. Plants grown in soil within growth chambers will be subjected to drought (monitored with soil water potential sensors) combined with cycles of high temperatures starting at the beginning of the flowering stage. Yield components will be recorded along with anatomical and molecular examinations of reproductive organs, known to be extremely vulnerable to the stresses. Based on the results obtained from these studies, the five most high temperatures + drought susceptible and five most high temperatures + drought tolerant genotypes will be evaluated in the field in dry-land locations, planted at early and late dates to estimate the effects of different temperatures on plant performance and productivity.
The study will identify germplasm resilient to high temperatures + drought that could potentially be used as parents for hybrids in commercial use, and reveal mechanisms employed by the plant to cope with the combined application of both types of stresses.
