Using Brassica oleracea in breeding of B. napus canola

The narrow genetic base of Brassica napus L. (AACC) canola is an impediment for continued improvement of this crop. This crop species evolved from the progenitor species B. rapa (AA) and B. oleracea (CC). The wide genetic variation present in the B. oleracea gene pool makes this species a valuable resource for use in the breeding of B. napus canola as well as to broaden the genetic base of this oilseed crop, especially its C genome.

Authors of a recent article in Crop Science studied six B. napus canola populations. They were derived from B. napus × B. oleracea interspecific hybridization involving six accessions of B. oleracea belonging to four variants of this species and a single B. napus canola line. The lines were used to to investigate the potential of the B. oleracea gene pool for the improvement of agronomic and seed quality traits of B. napus canola. Among these, populations derived from the broccoli-derived cross gave the greatest seed yield while those derived from cauliflower had the highest seed oil. Several lines exceeded seed yield of the B. napus parent and also had acceptable agronomic and seed quality traits.

Thus, the study demonstrates that the use of B. oleracea can improve the performance of spring B. napus canola as well as broaden the genetic base of this crop.