Leading the Way in Canola Research and Development

Canola/rapeseed is an important crop for high quality oil and protein markets. Continuous research, development and innovation in areas such as breeding, agronomy, physiology and genetics among others, have made it possible to expand its global market.

This Virtual Issue includes a selection of papers published in Crop & Pasture Science. Pan et al. (2016) analysed the main challenges and opportunities for canola production in the inland Pacific Northwestern of the USA (iPNW) compared with other major semiarid canola producing regions such as Western Australia, the Great Plains of Central USA and the western Canadian prairies. The key drivers of yield formation and the importance of yield components in high-yielding canola crops have been addressed by Zhang and Flottmann (2016), while the genetic basis of yield for drought tolerance per se in canola has been investigated by Raman et al. (2020). Disease incidence is also a major concern. Al-lami et al. (2019) investigated the role played by foliage components in the development of Alternaria spot disease caused by Alternaria brassicae in canola. On the other hand, Van de Wouw et al. (2021) addressed the emergence of fungicide resistance in blackleg disease, caused by the pathogen Leptosphaeria maculans. From an environmental perspective, the potential of organic amendments to reduce water pollution by immobilising pesticide residues in canola grown in pots was addressed by Mahmoud et al. (2022).

In summary, this virtual issue provides a collection of important papers for the continued advancement of canola crop.

Sergio G. Atienza

Institute for Sustainable Agriculture, CSIC, Alameda del Obispo s/n, 14004, Córdoba, Spain.

Email: sgatienza@ias.csic.es

Published 20 November 2019