A novel looking canola plant could be the key to disease avoidance in canola. New approach to sclerotinia management Stephen Denys Growers attending Zeneca Seeds Performance Trials this past summer had to take a second look at one particular variety being demonstrated for the first time. What growers saw was the first canola variety to produce flowers without petals. This unique new technology is called apetalous canola, and it may literally change the way canola is pictured in the field.
Sclerotinia is a major foliar disease in canola that causes millions of dollars in damage each year.
It is estimated that at least 9 percent of canola fields are sprayed with a fungicide each year to limit the losses caused by the disease. The development of apetalous canola was initiated after Zeneca Seeds researchers investigated the sclerotinia disease cycle. Greuel describes the infection process as part of the lifecycle of the disease. Initially overwintering sclerotial bodies germinate in the soil and produce apothecia, which are small fruiting bodies that produce ascospores. These ascospores, or fungal seeds, are released into the air and land throughout the canola canopy.