Pre-breeding lines combining canola quality with sclerotinia resistance, good agronomy and genomic diversity from PAK93
Term: 4 years, beginning in 2021
Status: Ongoing
Researcher(s): Sally Vail, AAFC
SaskCanola Investment: $46,666.66
Total Project Cost: $280,000
Funding Partners: Western Grains Research Foundation, ACPC, MCGA
Project Description
Seed of PAK93-based pre-breeding lines will be more attractive to plant breeding companies than the original germplasm such as PAK54, primarily because it will be faster to develop hybrid varieties that combine the desirable traits from PAK93-derived lines with other important traits such as herbicide tolerance and resistance to the diseases, blackleg and clubroot. Secondly, the PAK93-derived lines will add much needed genome-wide diversity into breeding programs upon which further improvements in plant resilience can be made. In turn, growers in Western Canada will benefit economically from access to new canola varieties with high levels of sclerotinia resistance, yield potential and resilience to climate change.
Objectives
In the first phase (2020-2024) we will develop pre-breeding lines that combine desirable traits in PAK93, sclerotinia resistance, early vigor and flowering, good agronomy and yield potential with canola seed quality, low glucosinolates, low erucic acid, high oil and shatter resistance from AAFC’s elite lines.
At the end of the project, we will form a consortium of canola breeding companies interested in funding the final selection of pre-breeding lines over the following three growing seasons in exchange for exclusive access to these line.