What is hybrid canola?
A hybrid is the first-generation offspring of a canola plant (referred to as F1), produced by crossing genetically different parents. This crossing (called hybridization) produces offspring with hybrid vigour which can generate improved yield (grain and oil), plant vitality (growth and resilience), vegetative growth (rate and density). Hybrid varieties can also have herbicide tolerance traits and disease resistance.
Differences between open pollinated and hybrid canola seed.
Hybrid seed has advantages in producing crops with hybrid vigour and the breeding process allows new traits to be incorporated through breeding more quickly than through the process of breeding open pollinated varieties. Hybrid crops tend to be quite uniform in their growth, which has benefits in management and harvesting of the crop.
However, retaining and using seed produced by hybrid crops (referred to as F2 seed) is generally not recommended as retained seed does not produce true copies of the original hybrid plant. Crops grown using F2 seed “segregate out” producing a more variable, less vigorous crop. When compared with an F1 crop, F2 crops can show greater variability in traits such as disease resistance, maturity, yield and herbicide tolerance which can result in yield penalties. GRDC has funded a range of work comparing the use of open pollinated canola seed, hybrid seed as well as the performance of crops sown using F2 seed123. Seed of open pollinated canola varieties is generally cheaper to buy, the seed produced by the crop will grow true to the parent crop, and growers can retain their own seed. In some regions, such as low and variable rainfall areas, varietal performance, growing conditions affecting establishment and the much cheaper relative costs of open pollinated seed versus hybrid seed means that open pollinated varieties can reduce economic risk.
The process of Hybrid seed production
Hybrid seed production requires separate male and female parent plants, with pollen transfer from the male to female plants to produce the hybrid seed. This complicates breeding because of the need to produce seed for the male and female parent lines separately (referred to as basic seed) in order to generate the hybrid (F1) seed. This means basic seed is produced in the year before the hybrid seed crop, which is effectively two years before the hybrid (F1) seed appears on retail shelves.
The crop planted with the basic seed requires the male and female lines to be planted in separate areas of the same field. The male plants are subsequently mulched/ destroyed after pollination to remove them from the field and ensure there is no seed contamination. As a result, up to 25% of the total area planted for seed production never goes on to produce seed.
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