Clubroot continues to spread across Western Canada and North Dakota, pushing breeders and growers to look for canola hybrids that can stand up to a wider range of pathotypes while still delivering strong returns.
DL Seeds, working closely with BrettYoung and partners across the Prairies and Europe, has been at the forefront of developing canola varieties with some of the broadest clubroot resistance available to North American farmers.
This article takes you behind the scenes with DL Seeds’ Senior Breeder, Dr. Janice Duguid, to explore who DL Seeds is, how their breeding program works, what makes 6076 CR distinct, and where canola breeding is headed next.
DL Seeds: Three Key Facts
There are three things you need to know about DL Seeds.
- Shared family ownership: Like family-owned BrettYoung, DL Seeds is also in part family-owned (50% to be exact).
- Global breeding network: While these canola plant breeding specialists are headquartered in Morden, Manitoba, they boast two parent companies in Europe and share germplasm, breeding research, and knowledge between several continents.
- Broad clubroot resistance: DL Seeds has developed a canola variety with likely the broadest clubroot resistance available to North American farmers today.
The Emergence of Clubroot in Western Canada
“Clubroot is moving; it’s here, and it’s something that producers need to deal with now and well into the future,” says DL Seeds’ Senior Breeder, Dr. Janice Duguid.
New pathotypes are continually being identified in Western Canada and North Dakota and breeders are analyzing and incorporating new sources of clubroot resistance into the latest canola hybrids, like our 6076 CR variety.
Canola Breeding at DL Seeds
Here’s a look behind the scenes with Dr. Janice Duguid, one of the scientists who was a key part of the breeding team that developed 6076 CR and many other BrettYoung clubroot-resistant varieties.
Building on Past Hybrids and Farmer Feedback
Plant breeding is a cumulative process; breeders build on past products, listen to the needs of farmers and learn from years of experience.
“We’re always trying to do better than we’ve done in the past,” Duguid says. “We keep adding all of the pieces together and expanding our hybrids to have additional traits to provide protection to various diseases.”
Screening Thousands of Potential Hybrids
The breeding process can be filled with uncertainty, resulting in long hours spent on potential products that may never make it to market.
“We’re evaluating thousands of hybrids every year,” Duguid explains, noting that it’s easy to get excited about a promising variety, just to have it fail in testing.
“You can’t fall in love with a new hybrid until the combine tells you that you can,” Duguid says. “But we hit it out of the park with this one [6076 CR]. It’s a solid variety that we’re really proud of.”
6076 CR: A Variety Six Years in the Making
The DL Seeds team that developed 6076 CR included breeders, agronomists and pathologists from across Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba.
They worked for nearly six years to perfect a well-performing hybrid for Prairie canola growers whose crops are affected by clubroot.
Duguid says it was their goal to bring farmers “a product that they can grow on their farm and that they can have a return on, something that’s adaptable to their area.”
Clubroot Screening Results
While she isn’t a pathologist herself, Duguid finds the disease-screening process very exciting.
“No matter how hard we tried to infect this hybrid [6076 CR] with clubroot, it didn’t seem to faze it, and believe me, we tried,” she said.
Each time they attempted to infect the variety, their screening couldn’t find any clubroot galls. The plants kept coming out clean.
“It’s what you hope for and work toward as a breeder.”
Disease Resistance and Agronomic Traits
This variety has resistance to the older pathotypes that were first identified on the Prairies (2F, 3H, 5I, 6M and 8N) and also to newer pathotypes, including 2B, 3A, 3D, 3O, 5G, 5K, 5X and 8E.
It also has multi-genic Blackleg resistance, improved tolerance to Sclerotinia and has a profitable yield, which was important to the breeding team.
6076 CR is the ideal combination of yield, quality and disease resistance for growers.
The Future of Canola Breeding
“There will always be something to work on,” says Duguid on the future of the industry. “New traits, hopefully new herbicide tolerance and specialty traits that benefit the consumer.”
Duguid says she’s looking forward to meeting all the challenges that nature has to offer.
Duguid and her team at DL Seeds are committed to advancing their work on hybrids with durable disease resistance and a continued focus on clubroot.
They are an integral part of what makes BrettYoung “Distinct by Design”.
FAQ
What are the three key things to know about DL Seeds?
DL Seeds is 50 percent family owned like BrettYoung; it is headquartered in Morden, Manitoba with two parent companies in Europe and shared germplasm, breeding research and knowledge across several continents; and it has developed a canola variety with likely the broadest clubroot resistance available to North American farmers.
How does DL Seeds approach canola breeding?
DL Seeds treats plant breeding as a cumulative process that builds on past products, farmer feedback and years of experience, continually adding traits that protect against diseases and evaluating thousands of hybrids every year to find those that perform in the field.
What makes the 6076 CR canola hybrid distinct?
6076 CR is the result of nearly six years of intensive screening and agronomic testing by a Prairie-based team, and it combines exceptional clubroot resistance, multi-disease protection, strong yield performance and overall adaptability for Prairie canola growers.
Which clubroot pathotypes is 6076 CR resistant to?
6076 CR has resistance to older clubroot pathotypes first identified on the Prairies, including 2F, 3H, 5I, 6M and 8N, and also to newer pathotypes such as 2B, 3A, 3D, 3O, 5G, 5K, 5X and 8E.
What other disease resistances and agronomic traits does 6076 CR offer?
In addition to broad clubroot resistance, 6076 CR has multi-genic Blackleg resistance, improved tolerance to Sclerotinia and a profitable yield, making it an ideal combination of yield, quality and disease resistance for growers.
Who was involved in developing 6076 CR and how long did it take?
The DL Seeds team that developed 6076 CR included breeders, agronomists and pathologists from across Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba, and they worked for nearly six years to perfect this well-performing hybrid for Prairie canola growers affected by clubroot.
What does Dr. Janice Duguid see for the future of canola breeding?
Dr. Janice Duguid believes there will always be new challenges, with ongoing work on new traits, hopefully new herbicide tolerance and specialty traits that benefit the consumer, along with a continued focus on hybrids with durable disease resistance and strong clubroot protection.
