Rapeseed breeder seed

Rapeseed oil Low-erucic rapeseed oil is now the third largest source of oil after soybean and palm. The seed contains over 40% of oil and this represents about 80% of the seed s commercial value. Seed breeders have developed seeds which produce oil low in erucic acid (<2%) and meal low in the undesirable sulfur-containing glucosinolates (i.e. double low varieties). This low-erucic oil (LEAR)... 

The term canola, accentuating the excellent quality factors the plant breeders have introduced into canola seed, is a significant step forward in marketing. The nutritional content of double low canola seed is superior to the old varieties of rapeseed in respect to both the oil and meal. Since Canada is leading the world at the moment in the development of the double low varieties this gives her a distinct advantage in expanding market share for these products. 

The rapeseed breeding program at the University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, was initiated in 1953. Soybeans, sunflowers and safflowers were evaluated as potential edible oilseed crops for several years. Work on these crops was discontinued when it became evident that rapeseed was the best adapted edible oilseed for large-scale production in the Prairie Provinces. Since 1966, the plant breeder at Winnipeg has devoted most of his time to rape-seed. In 1958, a chemist joined the staff. The staff now includes one breeder, a chemist, and a pathologist. 

Until recently the fatty acid composition of rapeseed oil was quite different from that of other edible vegetable oils from 40 to 60% of the fatty acid components of rapeseed oil consisted of the long chain fatty acids, erucic and eicosenoic. This unusual fatty acid composition has been the subject of numerous nutritional studies. Detrimental effects attributed to the long chain fatty acid components of rapeseed oil stimulated plant breeders to search for genetically controlled variation in these components. Rape plants which produce seed oil essentially without erucic acid were isolated (Ste-fansson et al., 1961) and this characteristic was incorporated into cultivars suitable for commercial production. The new "low erucic acid" rapeseed oils contain only the fatty acid components found in other edible vegetable oils traditionally used as food in the Western World. 

---