Canola (Brassica napus L. cv. ‘Canola’) production has both economic and agronomic advantages. The objectives of this review were to summarize the key management factors determining crop productivity and to propose plausible pathways to narrow the gap between actual and potential yield. A synthesis study was conducted on data available from performance trials and by reviewing >100 reports in peer‐reviewed journals, extension publications, and websites. The main outcomes obtained from this synthesis suggested that canola attainable yield could be 4 Mg ha−1 with a potential maximum yield of 7 Mg ha−1. However, actual average yields in North America region were ∼1.7 Mg ha−1 for the period 2000 to 2014. Available in‐season water, water distribution at critical stages, and nutrient supply (soil plus fertilizer) all contribute to a significant portion of canola yield. Other management factors such as seeding rate, rotation, and cultivar selection substantially affect plant performance. Tillage might have an economic and environmental effect, but overall, the outcome of the meta‐analysis did not show significant effect on yield. The review suggests that water supply, balanced nutrition, early planting (for both winter and spring types) in shallow depth (10–19 mm), high seeding rate (6 kg ha−1), and diverse rotation (canola every 3 or 4 yr) are among the best management practices to increase yields. Future lines of research should focus on improving planting operations that diminish early‐season heterogeneity, fine‐tuning optimal seeding rates based on modern varieties at varying yield environments, and searching for compatible hybrids to replant without heterogeneity at harvest.

The objective of this research was to study the adhesion properties of sodium bisulfite (NaHSO 3 )-modified canola protein. Protein was extracted from canola meal through alkali solubilization and acid precipitation methods, then modified with different concentrations of NaHSO 3 (0-15 g/L) during the isolation process. As NaHSO 3 concentration increased, canola protein purities decreased. Amino acid profiles showed that the hydrophobic amino acids in canola protein constituted only 27% of total protein, indicating that canola protein is mostly hydrophilic. The reducing effects of NaHSO 3 were exerted on canola protein through the breaking of disulfide bonds in both its cruciferin and napin components, as reflected by the protein electrophoresis profile, DSC data, and morphological images. The wet protein isolates were used as adhesives. The greatest wet shear strength of canola protein adhesive without modification was 3.97 MPa with 100% wood cohesive failure (WCF), observed at a curing temperature of 190°C. NaHSO 3 had slight weakening effects on the adhesion performance of canola protein. Canola protein modified with 3 g/L NaHSO 3 exhibited wet shear strength similar to the control at 190°C and higher strength at 150 and 170°C. The NaHSO 3 modification significantly improved handling and flowability of canola protein adhesives.

Establishment and winter survival are two major challenges of growing winter canola (Brassica napus L.) in the central Great Plains. This study evaluated five planting dates between 15 August and 15 October and tillage method (conventional tillage and no tillage) on winter canola fall plant density, fall crown height, fall vigor, winter survival, spring plant density, spring vigor, and yield. Planting date affected all measurements while tillage only affected yield. Conventional tillage yielded 8% more than no tillage. Canola needs to be planted earlier than previously recommended: between 15 August and 1 September for successful winter survival and seed production in western Kansas.

Successful winter canola (Brassica napus L.) production creates diversity and provides crop rotation alternatives for producers. Stand establishment and winter survival are among the main determinants of success in winter canola production. The objective of this research was to investigate the impact of environment, crop management, genetics and their interactions on canola stand establishment, survival, yield, and oil and protein content. Two datasets were analyzed: results from the National Winter Canola Variety Trials conducted from 2003 to 2012 and data from experiments conducted for 3 yr (2010–2012) in Manhattan, KS, to assess the impact of planting date, tillage, and cultivar on canola yield and survival. Canola has the potential to yield up to 7 Mg ha–1; however, actual yields were usually in the range of 0 to 4 Mg ha–1. The average oil content of canola seeds was 40%, but the potential extended to 47%. Environment, defined as a combination of year and location, was responsible for the majority of variation in yield, oil content, stand establishment, and survival of winter canola. Planting in mid to late August and early September benefited yield most of the time compared with planting late in September or October in the Great Plains and Midwestern United States. Only with extremely early or late planting did tillage improve winter survival and yield compared with no‐till. Crown height of canola was greater in no‐till treatments compared with conventional tillage treatments, but a significant relationship was not observed between crown height and winter survival or yield. Cultivars differed significantly in yield, survival, and crown height, but no cultivars were consistently superior in no‐till conditions or with plantings outside of the recommended time frame.

Winter canola (Brassica napus L.) is highly sensitive to increasing temperatures during the reproductive and pod‐filling stages. Although the impact of high day‐time temperature stress on yield and quality has been documented in canola, similar information under high night‐time temperature (HNT) stress is not available. Using six hybrids and four open‐pollinated cultivars, we observed a marked shift in peak flowering towards earlier, cooler hours of the morning under HNT. Averaged across two independent experiments, the photochemical efficiency of photosystem II was significantly decreased (3%), with a significant increase in thylakoid membrane damage (13%) in the leaves of susceptible cultivars under HNT stress. Similarly, the susceptible cultivars also recorded significant reduction in biomass (34%), pod number (22%), pod weight (37%) and total seed weight (40%) per plant while the same set of agronomic traits were not affected among the tolerant cultivars. Quantitative impact of heat stress was confirmed with increased sensitivity to HNT exposure from gametogenesis until maturity resulting in a significantly higher yield loss compared to stress exposure from post‐flowering till maturity. HNT significantly decreased oil concentration, but increased protein concentration and saturated fatty acid levels in seeds of the susceptible cultivars. However, HNT had no impact on the unsaturated fatty acids in both hybrids and the open‐pollinated cultivars. Breeding targets based on fatty acid composition for enhancing canola seed quality may not be easily amenable due to the inconsistency documented with the compositional changes under heat stress. In summary, our findings conclude that canola hybrids are better suited to regions experiencing heat stress, compared to open‐pollinated cultivars, indicating the possibility of a complete shift to hybrid canola cultivation under predicted hotter climates in the future.

Winter canola generally produces greater yields than spring canola. However, its range is limited due to its inability to withstand the harsh winter conditions that occur in many northern regions of the U.S.A. To identify loci associated with freezing tolerance in canola, we conducted a genome-wide association study (GWAS) using a genotyped diversity panel containing 399 accessions consisting primarily of winter canola. One-month-old greenhouse grown plants were subsequently cold-acclimated for two months in an environmental growth chamber prior to phenotyping for freezing survival using a visual damage scale and chlorophyll fluorescence (Fv/Fo). There was reasonable correlation observed between visual damage and chlorophyll fluorescence ratings among the top associated loci; the results indicated that some loci contributed to both freezing damage/tolerance and photosynthetic efficiency. The resulting numerical values for phenotypes were used for association analyses with the identified SNPs. Thirteen significant markers were identified on nine chromosomes for the phenotypes scored, with several showing significance for multiple phenotypes. Twenty-five candidate genes were identified as previously associated with freezing tolerance, photosynthesis, or cold-responsive in canola or Arabidopsis.

A diverse population (429 member) of canola (Brassica napus L.) consisting primarily of winter biotypes was assembled and used in genome-wide association studies. Genotype by sequencing analysis of the population identified and mapped 290,972 high-quality markers ranging from 18.5 to 82.4% missing markers per line and an average of 36.8%. After interpolation, 251,575 high-quality markers remained. After filtering for markers with low minor allele counts (count > 5), we were left with 190,375 markers. The average distance between these markers is 4463 bases with a median of 69 and a range from 1 to 281,248 bases. The heterozygosity among the imputed population ranges from 0.9 to 11.0% with an average of 5.4%. The filtered and imputed dataset was used to determine population structure and kinship, which indicated that the population had minimal structure with the best K value of 2–3. These results also indicated that the majority of the population has substantial sequence from a single population with sub-clusters of, and admixtures with, a very small number of other populations. Analysis of chromosomal linkage disequilibrium decay ranged from ~7 Kb for chromosome A01 to ~68 Kb for chromosome C01. Local linkage decay rates determined for all 500 kb windows with a 10kb sliding step indicated a wide range of linkage disequilibrium decay rates, indicating numerous crossover hotspots within this population, and provide a resource for determining the likely limits of linkage disequilibrium from any given marker in which to identify candidate genes. This population and the resources provided here should serve as helpful tools for investigating genetics in winter canola.

Core Ideas Canola forage production was higher than wheat in fall but not in later harvests. Many of the forage quality parameters were superior in canola compared with wheat. Forage harvest decreased canola yield even before bolting but not in wheat. Canola has dual‐purpose use potential (forage and seed yield) with LF harvest. Winter canola (Brassica napus L. biennus) has the potential to be a dual‐purpose crop in the US Southern Great Plains, a region with cereal fallow mono‐cropping. However, there is little information on dual‐purpose canola in the region. Therefore, field studies were conducted in Clovis, NM, in 2013, 2014, and 2015 to compare harvesting time effect on forage productivity (dry matter), quality, and oil and seed production of canola and wheat. Harvesting time treatments were late‐fall (LF), mid‐winter (MW), early‐spring (ES), late‐spring (LS), and no‐harvest (NH). The two forage crops were canola (cv. DKW44‐10, Griffin, and Safran) and wheat (cv. TAM 111 and TAM 113). In general, crop dry matter increased and forage nutritive values decreased with delay in harvest. Dry matter of LF to ES harvests ranged from 2950 to 7740 (canola) and from 2390 to 7490 kg ha−1 (wheat), suggesting superior forage production of canola with LF to ES harvests. Crops had similar crude protein and acid detergent fiber. Canola's neutral detergent fiber was lower (238 vs. 425 g kg−1), whereas its relative feed value (188–425) was higher than wheat (127–204). Average canola seed yields (excluding 2014) were 4360, 3040, 2940, and 2720, 930 kg ha−1 with the NH, LF, MW, ES, and LS forage harvests, respectively. Forage harvest had inconsistent effects on wheat seed yield. These results show canola's potential to produce high‐quality forage and seed yield and indicate that canola can be used as a rotational break crop in the crop–livestock production systems of the Southern Great Plains.