Sclerotinia-resistant canola varieties may be in the cards

A San Diego company is closer to commercializing a trait that could protect canola from sclerotinia.

In April, Cibus announced that two of its disease resistance traits for canola have been designated as “not regulated” by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

“We are encouraged by USDA-APHIS (Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service) broad designation for these traits being developed,” said Cibus co-founder Peter Beetham.

“We are especially excited about the prospect of additional modes of action for crop diseases that will help growers lower cost and improve yields…. We remain focused on working with our customers to advance products containing these valuable traits towards commercialization.”

Cibus has developed a trait that it says provides genetic resistance to sclerotinia, a disease that’s a persistent challenge for canola growers.

Last year, the canola disease survey in Saskatchewan detected sclerotinia stem rot in 56 per cent of canola fields in the province. Growers rely on fungicides to control sclerotinia, which is a “major disease in canola most years,” says the Canola Council of Canada website.

However, Cibus won’t be designing a new variety of canola with resistance to sclerotinia, also known as white mould.