Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 40 Page 41 Page 42 Page 43 Page 44 Page 45 Page 46 Page 47 Page 48 Page 49 Page 50 Page 51 Page 52 Page 53 Page 54 Page 55 Page 56 Page 57 Page 58 Page 59 Page 60 Page 61 Page 62 Page 63 Page 64 Page 65 Page 66 Page 67 Page 68 Page 69 Page 70 Page 71 Page 72 Page 73 Page 74 Page 75 Page 76 Page 77 Page 78 Page 79 Page 80 Page 81 Page 82 Page 83 Page 84 Page 85 Page 86 Page 87 Page 88 Page 89 Page 90 Page 91 Page 92 Page 93 Page 94 Page 95 Page 96 Page 97 Page 98 Page 99 Page 100 Page 101 Page 102 Page 103 Page 104 Page 105 Page 106 Page 107 Page 108 Page 109 Page 110 Page 111 Page 11214 www.seed.ab.ca | Advancing Seed in Alberta Canola RESEARCHERS at the University of Alberta are about half way through a three year collaborative project with Dow Agro- Sciences Canada Inc. to create elite canola germplasm featuring improved seed oil and meal traits. The results of the project so far are “very exciting,” says one of the study’s lead researchers, Dr. Randall Weselake, an agricultural biotechnology professor at the University of Alberta. “We’re working on developing the whole package. It’s absolutely doable if we do it in a systematic manner.” The collaborative project, funded through a $320,000 invest- ment by Genome Canada and about double that in-kind by Dow AgroSciences, includes four main priorities. Not surprisingly, priority one is to increase seed oil content. Increasing seeds’ oil content by one percentage point would add a whopping $90 mil- lion to Canada’s oilseed crushing and extraction industry. “The oil content and oil profile are our top priorities because that is where the value is,” says the study’s principal investigator from Dow AgroSciences, Dr. Muhamned Tahir. “We have two main stakeholders: farmers and crushers. Farm- ers are focused on profitability, so we need to make sure that the varieties are high yielding. Crushers are focused on oil: if we can increase oil content, they’ll be more efficient, which keeps Cana- dian canola competitive in the global marketplace.” Though not as valuable as canola oil, there is significant poten- tial in improving canola meal as well, says Weselake. The project aims to increase the meal’s protein, which would increase its Buildinga Better Canola University of Alberta and Dow AgroSciences researchers are conducting a collaborative research project to create a “super elite” line of high-performance canola hybrids. Photo by Chris Kazala, University of Alberta The University of Alberta’s Dr. Randall Weselake and his team are creating elite canola germplasm featuring improved seed oil and meal traits.