Canola quality issues and future R&D focus

Don McCafferyTechnical Specialist NSW DPI Orange

Presentation title – Presenter name(s) – Division – Date

Canola oil quality challenges

Seasonal variability– Spring moisture stress and/or heat during podfill

• Yield, oil %– Weather damage

• 2010 – wet harvest – low test weights• 2013 – frost

Ave. state oil% 2009-2013

Grower objectives Weed control Yield Rotation & system fit

– root & crown disease control– maturity for operational & harvest efficiency

Oil content - only quality parameter paid for– no payment for protein– oil inverse relationship with protein

Australian Quality 20 Year Trend

Yield vs oil in profitability

@ 2.0 t/ha @ 42% oil @ $500 t/ha = $1,000/ha gross

Increase yield by 5% (no extra oil) = $1,050/ha Increase oil by say 3% (no extra yield) = $1,023/ha 5% yield is a lot easier to achieve than 3% oil Highest oil lines currently are RR

– Standard and high oleic specialty types

National Variety Trial 2013 Example

Type Yield (t/ha) Oil% T Yield (t/ha) Oil% T Yield (t/ha) Oil% TConventional 2.33 42.0 5 2.71 42.4 5Clearfield 2.23 42.7 5 2.76 43.0 8 2.39 45.1 8Triazine (TT) 1.94 41.4 11 2.71 42.4 16 2.27 44.8 13Roundup Ready 2.26 41.7 14 2.77 42.9 13 2.62 44.9 11

Beckom Grenfell Cootamundra

Nitrogen effects on yield and oil

Single most important nutrient in canola productivity

bcc

b

ab aa

b

c d d

0.0

0.2

0.4

0.6

0.8

1.0

1.2

1.4

0 40 80 160 240

Applied N (kg N/ha)

Yie

ld (

t/h

a @

8%

)

30

32

34

36

38

40

42

44

46

48

Oil

(%

)

Specialty – high oleic/low linolenic Market driven 3 crushers, 2 seed companies

– MONOLA and Victory lines Demand ?..... Growing

– Currently 5-6% Quality (fatty acid content) apparently stable

across environments 2013 tests on NVT line

– Oleic acid content • Bellata 66.5%; Condo 67.3%; Lockhart 66.9%

Recent and future research Targeting yield, not specifically targeting oil content

or quality parameters

Agronomy/VSAP projects– Quality data collected on a range of agronomic

experimental treatments– Variety-hybrid, sowing time, plant population,

crop nutrition (mostly N), row spacing

National Variety Trial data since 2005

New canola physiology-agronomy project2015-2019

Across 3 states – NSW, Vic and SA (similar in WA) Physiology/modelling and tactical agronomy trials

– 5-6 sites in NSW + phenology– Assessing early sowing to maximise yield and oil

Harvest management (northern NSW only)– Pattern of yield and oil formation– Plant population, hybrid vs OP, windrow vs direct

head

Questions