An agricultural science team at the University of Calgary has uncovered several new ways to improve shatter tolerance in canola, a breakthrough that could help farmers cut costs and reduce harvest losses.
The findings, published last month in the peer-reviewed journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, address one of the most persistent challenges facing canola producers: pod shattering during harvest. Canola seeds are enclosed in small pods that can easily burst open when crops are cut, scattering seed before it can be collected.
While farmers want canola plants to be dry at harvest, that dryness increases the risk of shattering. According to the research, pod shattering leads to average seed losses of about 3% — roughly $1.3 billion annually — and can climb as high as 50% in harsh weather conditions.
To manage the risk, farmers typically use a two-step harvest process, first swathing the crop to dry it and later returning with a combine. The research could allow more producers to switch to straight cutting, harvesting the crop in a single pass.
“Farmers are spending a lot — their input costs have gone up for using the current commercial shatter tolerant varieties,” said Marcus Samuel, a professor of biological sciences. “They are spending over $80 an acre on the seed cost alone,” in addition to fuel and fertilizer.
The researchers identified a protein that strengthens the pod by precisely increasing lignin, the compound that reinforces plant cell walls.
“We found a protein that strengthens the pod. It’s almost like cementing it so that the little shakes won’t pop it open, but it still forms the seam properly that you can crack it open,” Samuel said.
In trials, roughly seven out of 10 pods shattered in the control group, compared to just one in 10 after the protein increase.
The work represents nearly a decade of research.
