1. The Great Plains Canola Germplasm Evaluation System Michael J. Stamm, Kansas State University and Oklahoma State University Table 2. 2006-2007 NWCVT Great Plains Locations CityStateCodeElevation (m)LatitudeMoisture (mm) AkronColoradoCOC142040°16′N381 FruitaColoradoCOF140139°06′N203 Rocky FordColoradoCOR127438°03′N305 WalshColoradoCOW121437°26′N406 Yellow JacketColoradoCOY211737°32′N406 Garden CityKansasKSG87637°55′N457 HesstonKansasKSS45738°08′N838 HutchinsonKansasKSH47937°56′N711 ManhattanKansasKSM32439°12′N813 ParsonsKansasKSP27437°21′N1118 ColumbiaMissouriMOC26538°32′N965 LincolnNebraskaNEL37140°51′N711 SidneyNebraskaNES144741°13′N406 ChickashaOklahomaOKC32835°02′N889 EnidOklahomaOKE37436°26′N864 GoodwellOklahomaOKG98736°36′N432 LahomaOklahomaOKL40336°23′N864 PerkinsOklahomaOKP27935°59′N940 TiptonOklahomaOKT38834°26′N787 DumasTexasTXA111535°52′N483 ChillicotheTexasTXC42734°11′N660 LubbockTexasTXL98033°36′N483 Table 1. 2006-2007 NWCVT Seed Providers Company/UniversityCityCountry/State Deutsche Saatveredelung AG (DSV)LippstadtGermany Kansas State UniversityManhattanKansas Miles EnterprisesOwensboroKentucky Monsanto CompanySt. LouisMissouri Norddeutch Pflanzenzucht (NPZ)HoltseeGermany Pioneer Hi-Bred InternationalJohnstonIowa Svalöv Weibull ABSvalövSweden Technology Crops InternationalWinston-SalemNorth Carolina University of ArkansasFayettevilleArkansas Virginia State UniversityPetersburgVirginia Introduction Winter canola production has increased in the southern Great Plains states of Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas in recent years. Nearly 60,000 acres were seeded in 2005, with additional acreage increases expected. The increases have been possible because of the results generated from the Great Plains Canola Germplasm Evaluation System, coordinated by K-State since 1994. Superior canola-quality lines are tested nationally in a three-tiered, multi-location yield trial system. Results have aided various breeding programs in making decisions on releasing and marketing of experimental varieties and hybrids. History Since 1982, regional testing of oilseed rape has been conducted by K-State. However, the varieties developed at the time were not adapted to the harsh winter weather extremes of the southern Great Plains. In 1992, a breeding and research program was established at K-State to develop rapeseed as a high-value, alternative crop for Kansas. The Great Plains Canola Germplasm Evaluation System, consisting of two performance trials, was established in the fall of 1994 to evaluate public and private Brassica germplasm in the region. The Great Plains Canola Variety Trial (GPCVT), later called the Intermediate Canola Nursery, provided the first opportunity to evaluate experimental lines in a wide range of environments. The second trial was called the Advanced Canola Nursery (ACN). In 1997, a third trial called the Early Generation Screening Nursery (EGSN) was added to the system. In 1998, the ACN changed focus and was renamed the National Winter Canola Variety Trial (NWCVT). In 2005, K-State and Oklahoma State University combined available resources to jointly fund the regional breeding program and further the advancement and promotion of winter canola as a rotational crop with winter wheat. Procedures Crosses are performed each winter in the greenhouse to develop new breeding populations. Segregating populations are evaluated at one location and plants with superior traits are advanced from the F2 to F5 generations. Near canola- quality lines in the F6 generation are first evaluated in the EGSN. Since the year 2000, close to 700 experimental lines have been tested in the EGSN at three to four locations per year. In 2006-2007, the EGSN was planted at three locations with three replications of 70 entries. After one year of testing, promising lines are advanced to the GPCVT. The 2006-2007 GPCVT was planted at 12 locations across the region. The trial is three replications of 38 experimental lines, including four commercial varieties as checks. Since the year 2000, approximately 270 experimental varieties have been evaluated in this yield trial. Varieties that excel in the GPCVT will spend no longer than two seasons in the trial before they are dropped or advanced to the NWCVT. The NWCVT includes newly released cultivars, advanced experimental lines in the final stages of yield testing, and standard commercial varieties as checks. Results of the trial provide canola growers an aid for variety selection. This trial has expanded from 12 locations in six states in 1994-1995 to 53 locations in 25 states in 2006-2007. The majority of the locations are planted by cooperators who are interested in expanding canola production and increasing its visibility across the U.S. Entry numbers reached a record high in 2006-2007 with 57 entries planted, a 56 percent increase from the previous growing season. Twenty-one of the 57 entries are hybrids. Seed providers for the 2006- 2007 NWCVT are listed in Table 1. In order to evaluate and enhance the survivability of winter oilseed rape, trials must be located in areas where differential winter-kill occurs (Photo 1). Environments facing more or less severe winters than the main station at Manhattan, KS are chosen. Table 2 lists the trial locations for the Great Plains region. Elevation for testing environments ranges from 265 to 2117 meters above sea level, and moisture ranges from 203 to 1118 millimeters per year. Traits of interest to the joint canola breeding program include stand establishment and winter survival, tolerance to sulfonylurea herbicide soil-residual, glyphosate herbicide resistance, yield potential, oil quality, disease and pest resistance, shatter resistance, reduced height, early flowering, forage quality, and grazing tolerance. Results Three oilseed rape germplasm lines have been developed for use by winter rapeseed breeding programs. KS3579 was the first germplasm line released in 1996 and is low in erucic acid ( 200 µmol g -1 ). KS1701, a canola-quality (<20 g kg -1 erucic acid and <30 µmol g -1 glucosinolates) germplasm line, was released in 1997. Both of these germplasm lines expressed higher levels of winter survival than commercial lines adapted to the region at the time. KS7436 was released in 2006 by the K-State Field Crops Variety Review Committee. KS7436 has one percent higher oil content than most commercially available cultivars. Four conventional, winter canola varieties have been publicly released. The first variety released was ‘Plainsman’ in 1998. ‘Wichita’ was released in 1999, and ‘Abilene’ in 2001. ‘Sumner’, a cultivar possessing tolerance to sulfonylurea herbicide carryover, was made public in 2003. Sumner can be planted following a spring application of the chlorsulfuron class of herbicides. The level of adaptation to the region has improved as a result of the germplasm enhancement system. ‘Ceres’ was the most adapted variety when the program was initiated in 1994. Multiple adapted varieties are yielding nearly 300 pounds per acre more than Ceres (Figure 1). The average difference in survival between Wichita and the mean of Ceres is nearly 10 percent over 103 site/years of data (Figure 2). Acknowledgements Major funding for the project is provided by a USDA-CSREES Special Research Grant - Great Plains Regional Canola Research Program, the Kansas Agricultural Experiment Station, the Oklahoma Agricultural Experiment Station, the K-State Agronomy Department, the Kansas Crop Improvement Association, and the K-State Canola Crop Performance Testing Program. Photo 1. Genetic differences in winter survival at Enid, OK, 2006.Photo 2. 2005-06 National Winter Canola Variety Trial at Lahoma, OK.