|  | Demand for canola oil in healthy diets looks certain to continue. Add to that its potential for use in biodiesel manufacture as a renewable alternative to fossil fuels, its important role in sustainable crop rotations for disease and weed management, and the future for canola is exciting.
Keeping up with the bourgeoning demand for canola oil and developing new varieties suited to local conditions sees Australian owned canola breeding and marketing company, Nuseed, investing more and more each year into breeding. Nuseed has one of if not the largest and most diverse Canola breeding program in Australia.
Nuseed is actively breeding for a wide spectrum of Australia's diverse Canola market. Breeding efforts within the company are focused on, a number of market requirements revolving around herbicide tolerance, oil quality and of course yield. Nuseed currently commercialise traditional canola varieties within the conventional, Triazine Tolerant and Roundup Ready herbicide tolerance groups and our 'specialty', high oleic canola varieties that are branded as Monola, in both the conventional, Triazine Tolerant groups.
With over 20,000 plots across all primary canola growing areas in WA, SA, Vic and NSW, the Nuseed breeding program delivers varieties best suited to Australia's tough climate.
The company’s National Sales and Canola Product Manager, Tim Wilmshurst, explains “It all starts in the glasshouse in Horsham,” Tim said. “From there, newly bred lines move into the field, for yield evaluation, through a system of T0, T1 and T2 trials.
“With each step we condense the material down to just a fraction of what we started with. We also run concurrently blackleg disease screening nurseries. In the nurseries, lines are sown into multiple canola stubble backgrounds to create a high blackleg disease pressure.
“Our multi-location T2 trials are the best place to determine which lines have a good local fit and that’s why we spread them out, to work out what performs well under local conditions.
Our Monola® specialty high oleic canola business has been a focus and has seen significant growth over the last few years. Our excellent germplasm and our unique 'Cropnetwork' system combine to make Monola, not only more profitable for the grower but also much healthier for the end user.
Nuseed has invested in a new state of the art high tech biosecure PC2 glasshouse, that is close to taking delivery of next generation Roundup Ready 2 material.
Enhancements to the omega-3 fatty acid profile of canola varieties is another research target for Nuseed. The company recently moved into a collaborative research agreement with CSIRO and the Grains Research and Development Corporation.
This pioneering Australian research alliance is leading the international race to break the world’s reliance on fish stocks for its supply of the vital dietary nutrient, long chain DHA omega-3 oils.
The A$50 million dollar research collaboration will use leading edge gene technology to develop and commercialise vegetable oil which will contain the same high quality, DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) rich long chain omega-3 that traditionally comes from fish.
The three parties have signed two major agreements to develop and market plant made ‘DHA-rich’ long chain omega-3 oils, utilising world leading gene technology.
DHA and EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid) long chain omega-3s are fatty acids which have well-documented roles in heart and brain health, child and infant development, treating inflammation and other health functions.
Nuseed is in a market leading position to breed and supply Australian growers with new and exiting canola varieties that will fit future industry demand, both at and post the farm gate, for years to come.
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