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Rapeseed for Organic Farming - Use of Adapted Heterogeneous Material to Improve Resource Efficiency and Climate Adaptation

Original titleRaps für den biologischen Landbau - Nutzung angepasster Evolutionsramsche zur Verbesserung der Ressourceneffizienz und Klimaanpassung
Abstract

Although rapeseed provides a nutritionally very valuable edible oil with a high protein content, its importance in organic agriculture is low. This is due to the higher yield risk compared to conventional cultivation. Biotic and abiotic stressors, a long growing season and the high demands in nitrogen supply pose particular challenges in organic farming. As a result, the high demand for the nutritionally valuable edible oil and plant protein from organic farming has not yet been adequately met, leading to a supply gap. In the project, the offsprings of high-yielding parents crossed with non-adapted material (resynthesis lines) will be tested for their suitability for organic farming. This starting material for the investigations are heterogeneous populations, which have naturally adapted through cultivation over more than one and a half decades under organic cultivation conditions to climate and farming practice. In the project, subpopulations of the evolutionary bulks are to be phenotypically investigated. In particular, the root and shoot architecture features in conjunction with the total yield should provide information and key figures, which will be tracked, mapped and thus made usable utilizing subsequent genotyping.

In particular, the yield performance (oil and protein), water and nutrient use efficiency of the evolution shears are determined and directly compared with current varieties and selected lines from the junk populations.

The objectives of this project can be summarised as follows:

  1. To expand the gene pool by using and building on resynthesis lines
  2. To study nutrient efficiency
  3. To improve drought tolerance by observing root characteristics
  4. The composition of the harvested material in terms of protein and oil content

At the end of the project, genetic material will be available for the establishment of heterogeneous populations or for direct variety development.

Financing/ Donor
  • Federal Office for Agriculture and Food (BLE)
Project partners
  • Rheinische Friedrich Wilhelms Universität Bonn (UNIBonn)
  • Julius Kühn Institute (JKI)
  • NPZ Innovation GmbH
FiBL project leader/ contact
Role of FiBL

Project partner

Consultancy, data analysis, coordination and liaison with EU project COUSIN, organisation and implementation of field days.

FiBL project number 25167
Date modified 28.01.2025
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