Five new CARP projects seek solutions to key canola challenges

The latest round of Canola Agronomic Research Program (CARP) projects work toward addressing key insects and disease and abiotic stress concerns for canola growers in western Canada. Four of the projects will span three years and one project will span four years, wrapping up in 2026 and 2027, respectively.

CARP 2023 investigations

The canola research studies featured in the 2023 CARP program are:

1. Exploiting susceptibility genes in canola to improve blackleg resistance
   • Dr. Gary Peng‘s research team aims to generate novel resources and markers for blackleg resistance in this project. The outcomes from this study could be used in breeding for canola varieties with potentially broad-spectrum and durable disease resistance traits.
   • The potential benefit of this research to producers and industry is the continued improvement of variety resistance to all important canola diseases in western Canada.
   • To see how Dr. Peng’s research has impacted the canola industry, check out this Blackleg research through the years video.
2. Digging out the unknown: Finding the resistance against verticillium stripe in canola 
   • Led by Dr. Dilantha Fernando of the University of Manitoba, this project evaluates verticillium stripe disease resistance in commercial B. napus varieties to give a better knowledge of the ‘resistance’ label in commercial, breeding lines.
   • This project have potential to benefit the seed industry, growers, and the canola trade organizations, and an immense economic contribution to the Canadian economy (yearly revenues).
   • To learn more about verticillium stripe, check out this disease cycle infographic and the verticillium stripe field scouting guide.
   • Watch Dr. Dilantha Fernando discuss blackleg and verticillium stripe, and their impact across the Prairies in a presentation at the 2022 CAP Wrap-up.
3. Understanding the role of the clubroot pathogen kinases in disease progress and resistance
   • Dr. Edel Pérez-López is the principal investigator of this project which will to o identify and characterize the role of clubroot pathogen kinases in disease progress and resistance. This will contribute to understanding the clubroot pathogen and to develop new elite canola varieties resistant to P. brassicae with high yield with or without the clubroot pathogen in the field.
   • This research will fill existing gaps in the canola industry and will be essential for canola farmers and the canola industry in the long-term management of the clubroot disease.
   • To learn more about clubroot: look at this disease cycle infographic, check out this management guide and listen to Dr. Pérez-López discuss clubroot resistance in a Canola Watch podcast.
4. Capturing ancestral diversity for developing climate ready canola
   • This collaborative project led by Dr. Isobel Parkin aims to identify new genetic diversity of agronomic traits to ensure the long term sustainability of the canola crop.
     • It will target traits that have been linked to generating a more environmentally aware and climate responsive plant, through increasing yields while reducing further use of limited resources (water), and chemical inputs (fertilizer) known to contribute to the current negative climate trends.
     • The identification of novel sources of resistance to clubroot and a method for rapid and robust screening of new germplasm should have early economic benefits for the industry and producers.
   • The germplasm information generated will form a significant resource for breeders and academics, which will allow the continued improvement of canola and contribute to the long-term economic and environmental sustainability of canola.
   • For more on genetic advances that Dr. Parkin has been involved with, see the Tool helps breeders select for complex multi-gene traits article.
5. Cover crops for flea beetle management 
   • Dr. Yvonne Lawley is the leading her research team in evaluating the impact of fall rye and oat cover crops on flea beetles and their natural enemies in canola. This work builds on observations, a preliminary experiment in 2020, and knowledge for the published literature on the contributions of intercropping and crop residue to reducing flea beetle damage in canola.
   • Pairing small plot research experiments with on-farm testing will help evaluate the most promising cover crop treatments for this new practice that could scale up for deployment on commercial farms. New management tools, such as this, to control flea beetles in canola could be a crucial aspect to ensuring sustainable production of this crop in the future. 
   • In preparation for assessing flea beetle damage in a crop, check out this video and flea beetle threshold video and defoliation guide.

Brief overviews of these projects are available on the Hub and will be updated as the research progresses.

Browse the list of CARP 2022 projects and check on their progress. All CARP research is also available on the Hub, including completed and ongoing projects.

Published October 31, 2023