OP canola varieties: MCGA study and 46A76 update

Open-pollinated (OP) canola versus hybrid canola. Manitoba Canola Growers ran a two-year trial comparing yield and quality for eight open-pollinated napus varieties as well as two hybrid checks (5440 and 45H29). Average yield for the eight varieties was 25% less than the checks. Two varieties tested are newly available Bounty Gold and Alfa Gold, bred at the University of Alberta. In the Manitoba trials, these yielded 76.6 and 78.2 per cent of checks, respectively.

Read the full report

Got 46A76 in the bin? The Canadian Grain Commission (CGC) is making an exception and allowing deliveries of canola variety 46A76 made before August 1, 2018 to be assigned any grade for canola. The seed company has cancelled registration of 46A76 and any deliveries of unregistered varieties are required by The Canada Grain Act to be assigned the lowest grade available for that crop. But due to gaps in the notification process surrounding the cancellation of this variety, the CGC has made an exception in this specific case. Therefore, deliveries of canola variety 46A76 made before August 1, 2018 can be assigned any grade for canola. This exception also recognizes that the CGC has no concerns about the quality of 46A76, nor the overall impact to the quality of canola if 46A76 is delivered into the commercial grain handling system. As of August 1, 2018, the variety will only be eligible for the lowest grade of canola (No.3 Can). Read the Alberta Canola announcement.

Further reading:

Proposed list of variety registration cancellations
Details on the status of all varieties
Keep It Clean guidelines, including 5. Do not grow de-registered varieties
Canola Digest: Canola seed advances for 2018
Canola Performance Trials variety database