Rapeseed (''Brassica napus ''subsp.'' napus''), also known as rape, or oilseed rape, is a bright-yellow flowering member of the family

Brassicaceae Brassicaceae () or (the older) Cruciferae () is a medium-sized and economically important family of flowering plants commonly known as the mustards, the crucifers, or the cabbage family. Most are herbaceous plants, while some are shrubs. The le ...

(mustard or cabbage family), cultivated mainly for its oil-rich seed, which naturally contains appreciable amounts of

erucic acid Erucic acid is a monounsaturated omega-9 fatty acid, denoted 22:1ω9. It has the chemical formula CH3(CH2)7CH=CH(CH2)11COOH. It is prevalent in wallflower seed and other plants in the family Brassicaceae, with a reported content of 20 to 54% i ...

. The term ''

canola Close-up of canola blooms Canola flower Rapeseed oil is one of the oldest known vegetable oils. There are both edible and industrial forms produced from rapeseed, the seed of several cultivars of the plant family Brassicaceae. Historically, i ...

'' denotes a group of rapeseed

cultivar A cultivar is a type of cultivated plant that people have selected for desired traits and when propagated retain those traits. Methods used to propagate cultivars include: division, root and stem cuttings, offsets, grafting, tissue culture, ...

s which were bred to have very low levels of

and are especially prized for use as human and animal food. Rapeseed is the third-largest source of

vegetable oil Vegetable oils, or vegetable fats, are oils extracted from seeds or from other parts of fruits. Like animal fats, vegetable fats are ''mixtures'' of triglycerides. Soybean oil, grape seed oil, and cocoa butter are examples of seed oils, or fat ...

and the second-largest source of protein meal in the world. RapeseedFields

Description

''Brassica napus'' grows to in height with hairless, fleshy,

pinnatifid Pinnation (also called pennation) is the arrangement of feather-like or multi-divided features arising from both sides of a common axis. Pinnation occurs in biological morphology, in crystals, such as some forms of ice or metal crystals, and i ...

and

glaucous ''Glaucous'' (, ) is used to describe the pale grey or bluish-green appearance of the surfaces of some plants, as well as in the names of birds, such as the glaucous gull (''Larus hyperboreus''), glaucous-winged gull (''Larus glaucescens''), g ...

lower leaves which are stalked whereas the upper leaves have no petioles. ''Brassica napus'' can be distinguished from ''

Brassica nigra ''Brassica nigra'', or black mustard, is an annual plant cultivated for its dark-brown-to-black seeds, which are commonly used as a spice. It is native to tropical regions of North Africa, temperate regions of Europe, and parts of Asia. Descrip ...

'' by the upper leaves which do not clasp the stem, and from ''

Brassica rapa ''Brassica rapa'' is a plant species growing in various widely cultivated forms including the turnip (a root vegetable); napa cabbage, bomdong, bok choy, and rapini. ''Brassica rapa'' subsp. ''oleifera'' is an oilseed which has many common n ...

'' by its smaller petals which are less than across. Rapeseed flowers are bright yellow and about across. They are radial and consist of four

petals Petals are modified leaves that surround the reproductive parts of flowers. They are often brightly colored or unusually shaped to attract pollinators. All of the petals of a flower are collectively known as the ''corolla''. Petals are usually ...

in a typical cross-form, alternating with four

sepals A sepal () is a part of the flower of angiosperms (flowering plants). Usually green, sepals typically function as protection for the flower in bud, and often as support for the petals when in bloom., p. 106 The term ''sepalum'' was coined b ...

. They have indeterminate

racemose A raceme ( or ) or racemoid is an unbranched, indeterminate type of inflorescence bearing flowers having short floral stalks along the shoots that bear the flowers. The oldest flowers grow close to the base and new flowers are produced as the s ...

flowering starting at the lowest bud and growing upward in the following days. The flowers have two lateral

stamens The stamen (plural ''stamina'' or ''stamens'') is the pollen-producing reproductive organ of a flower. Collectively the stamens form the androecium., p. 10 Morphology and terminology A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filame ...

with short filaments, and four median stamens with longer filaments whose anthers split away from the flower's center upon flowering. The rapeseed pods are green and elongated siliquae during development that eventually ripen to brown. They grow on

pedicels In botany, a pedicel is a stem that attaches a single flower to the inflorescence. Such inflorescences are described as ''pedicellate''. Description Pedicel refers to a structure connecting a single flower to its inflorescence. In the absenc ...

long, and can range from in length. Each pod has two compartments separated by an inner central wall within which a row of seeds develops. The seeds are round and have a diameter of . They have a reticulate surface texture, and are black and hard at maturity.

Etymology and taxonomy

The term "rape" derives from the Latin word for

turnip The turnip or white turnip (''Brassica rapa'' subsp. ''rapa'') is a root vegetable commonly grown in temperate climates worldwide for its white, fleshy taproot. The word ''turnip'' is a compound of ''turn'' as in turned/rounded on a lathe and ' ...

, ''rapa'' or ''rapum'', cognate with the Greek word ''rhapys''. The

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

''Brassica napus'' belongs to the flowering plant family

. Rapeseed is a

subspecies In biological classification, subspecies is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. Not all species ...

with the

autonym Autonym may refer to: * Autonym, the name used by a person to refer to themselves or their language; see Exonym and endonym * Autonym (botany), an automatically created infrageneric or infraspecific name See also * Nominotypical subspecies, in zo ...

''B. napus ''subsp.'' napus''. It encompasses winter and spring oilseed, vegetable and fodder rape. Siberian kale is a distinct leaf rape form

variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

(''B. napus ''var.'' pabularia'') which used to be common as a winter-annual vegetable. The second subspecies of ''B. napus'' is ''B. napus ''subsp.'' rapifera'' (also subsp. ''napobrassica''; the rutabaga, swede, or yellow turnip). ''Brassica napus'' is a digenomic

amphidiploid Polyploidy is a condition in which the cells of an organism have more than one pair of ( homologous) chromosomes. Most species whose cells have nuclei ( eukaryotes) are diploid, meaning they have two sets of chromosomes, where each set contain ...

that occurred due to the

interspecific hybridization In biology, a hybrid is the offspring resulting from combining the qualities of two organisms of different breeds, varieties, species or genera through sexual reproduction. Hybrids are not always intermediates between their parents (such as in ...

between ''

Brassica oleracea ''Brassica oleracea'' is a plant species from family Brassicaceae that includes many common cultivars used as vegetables, such as cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, kale, Brussels sprouts, collard greens, Savoy cabbage, kohlrabi, and gai lan. Its ...

'' and ''

''. It is a self-compatible pollinating species like the other amphidiploid ''brassica'' species.

Ecology

In Northern Ireland, U K ''B. napus'' and ''B. rapa'' are recorded as escapes in roadside verges and waste ground.

Uses

Rapeseed is grown for the production of edible vegetable oils, animal feed, and

biodiesel Biodiesel is a form of diesel fuel derived from plants or animals and consisting of long-chain fatty acid esters. It is typically made by chemically reacting lipids such as animal fat (tallow), soybean oil, or some other vegetable oil with ...

. Rapeseed was the third-leading source of vegetable oil in the world in 2000, after

soybean The soybean, soy bean, or soya bean (''Glycine max'') is a species of legume native to East Asia, widely grown for its edible bean, which has numerous uses. Traditional unfermented food uses of soybeans include soy milk, from which tofu an ...

and

palm oil Palm oil is an edible vegetable oil derived from the mesocarp (reddish pulp) of the fruit of the oil palms. The oil is used in food manufacturing, in beauty products, and as biofuel. Palm oil accounted for about 33% of global oils produced from ...

. It is the world's second-leading source of

protein Proteins are large biomolecules and macromolecules that comprise one or more long chains of amino acid residues. Proteins perform a vast array of functions within organisms, including catalysing metabolic reactions, DNA replication, respo ...

meal after soybean.

Vegetable oil

Rapeseed oil Close-up of canola blooms Canola flower Rapeseed oil is one of the oldest known vegetable oils. There are both edible and industrial forms produced from rapeseed, the seed of several cultivars of the plant family Brassicaceae. Historically, i ...

is one of the oldest known vegetable oils, but historically was used in limited quantities due to high levels of erucic acid, which is damaging to

cardiac muscle Cardiac muscle (also called heart muscle, myocardium, cardiomyocytes and cardiac myocytes) is one of three types of vertebrate muscle tissues, with the other two being skeletal muscle and smooth muscle. It is an involuntary, striated muscle th ...

of animals, and glucosinolates, which made it less nutritious in animal feed. Rapeseed oil can contain up to 54% erucic acid. Food-grade oil derived from rapeseed cultivars, known as canola oil or low-erucic-acid rapeseed oil (LEAR oil), has been generally recognized as safe by the

United States Food and Drug Administration The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA or US FDA) is a federal agency of the Department of Health and Human Services. The FDA is responsible for protecting and promoting public health through the control and supervision of food s ...

. Canola oil is limited by government regulation to a maximum of 2% erucic acid by weight in the US and 2% in the EU, with special regulations for infant food. These low levels of erucic acid are not believed to cause harm in human

infants An infant or baby is the very young offspring of human beings. ''Infant'' (from the Latin word ''infans'', meaning 'unable to speak' or 'speechless') is a formal or specialised synonym for the common term ''baby''. The terms may also be used to ...

Animal feed

Processing of rapeseed for oil production produces rapeseed meal as a byproduct. The byproduct is a high-protein animal feed, competitive with soybean. Rapeseed is an excellent

silage Silage () is a type of fodder made from green foliage crops which have been preserved by fermentation to the point of acidification. It can be fed to cattle, sheep and other such ruminants (cud-chewing animals). The fermentation and storage p ...

crop (fermented and stored in air-tight conditions for later use as a winterfeed). The feed is employed mostly for

cattle Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, cloven-hooved, herbivores. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus ''Bos''. Adult females are referred to as cows and adult mal ...

feeding, but is also used for

pig The pig (''Sus domesticus''), often called swine, hog, or domestic pig when distinguishing from other members of the genus '' Sus'', is an omnivorous, domesticated, even-toed, hoofed mammal. It is variously considered a subspecies of ''Sus ...

s and

poultry Poultry () are domesticated birds kept by humans for their eggs, their meat or their feathers. These birds are most typically members of the superorder Galloanserae (fowl), especially the order Galliformes (which includes chickens, quails, a ...

. However, the high levels of erucic acid and

glucosinolates Glucosinolates are natural components of many pungency, pungent plants such as mustard plant, mustard, cabbage, and horseradish. The pungency of those plants is due to mustard oils produced from glucosinolates when the plant material is chewed, cut ...

in natural rapeseed oil significantly lowers the nutritional value of rapeseed press cakes for animal feed. Rapeseed meal is mostly used as a soil fertilizer rather than for animal feed in China.

Biodiesel

Rapeseed oil is used as diesel fuel, either as

, straight in heated fuel systems, or blended with petroleum distillates for powering motor vehicles. Biodiesel may be used in pure form in newer engines without engine damage and is frequently combined with fossil-fuel

diesel Diesel may refer to: * Diesel engine, an internal combustion engine where ignition is caused by compression * Diesel fuel, a liquid fuel used in diesel engines * Diesel locomotive, a railway locomotive in which the prime mover is a diesel engin ...

in ratios varying from 2% to 20% biodiesel. Owing to the costs of growing, crushing, and refining rapeseed biodiesel, rapeseed-derived biodiesel from new oil costs more to produce than standard diesel fuel, so diesel fuels are commonly made from the used oil. Rapeseed oil is the preferred oil stock for biodiesel production in most of Europe, accounting for about 80% of the feedstock, partly because rapeseed produces more oil per unit of land area compared to other oil sources, such as soybeans, but primarily because canola oil has a significantly lower

gel point In polymer chemistry, the gel point is an abrupt change in the viscosity of a solution containing polymerizable components. At the gel point, a solution undergoes gelation as reflected in a loss in fluidity. Gelation is characteristic of polymeri ...

than most other vegetable oils. Because of the changes to the environment caused by climate change, a 2018 study predicted that rapeseed would become an unreliable source of oil for biofuels.

Other

Rapeseed is also used as a

cover crop In agriculture, cover crops are plants that are planted to cover the soil rather than for the purpose of being harvested. Cover crops manage soil erosion, soil fertility, soil quality, water, weeds, pests, diseases, biodiversity and wildlife i ...

in the US during the winter as it prevents

soil erosion Soil erosion is the denudation or wearing away of the upper layer of soil. It is a form of soil degradation. This natural process is caused by the dynamic activity of erosive agents, that is, water, ice (glaciers), snow, air (wind), plants, and ...

, produces large amounts of

biomass Biomass is plant-based material used as a fuel for heat or electricity production. It can be in the form of wood, wood residues, energy crops, agricultural residues, and waste from industry, farms, and households. Some people use the terms bi ...

, suppresses weeds and can improve soil

tilth Tilth is a physical condition of soil, especially in relation to its suitability for planting or growing a crop. Factors that determine tilth include the formation and stability of aggregated soil particles, moisture content, degree of aeration, s ...

with its root system. Some cultivars of rapeseed are also used as annual forage and are ready for grazing livestock 80 to 90 days after planting. Rapeseed has a high melliferous potential (produces substances that can be collected by insects) and is a main forage crop for

honeybees A honey bee (also spelled honeybee) is a eusocial flying insect within the genus ''Apis'' of the bee clade, all native to Afro-Eurasia. After bees spread naturally throughout Africa and Eurasia, humans became responsible for the current cosmo ...

. Monofloral rapeseed honey has a whitish or milky yellow color, peppery taste and, due to its fast crystallization time, a soft-solid texture. It crystallizes within 3 to 4 weeks and can ferment over time if stored improperly. The low fructose-to-glucose ratio in monofloral rapeseed honey causes it to quickly granulate in the

honeycomb A honeycomb is a mass of Triangular prismatic honeycomb#Hexagonal prismatic honeycomb, hexagonal prismatic Beeswax, wax cells built by honey bees in their beehive, nests to contain their larvae and stores of honey and pollen. beekeeping, Beekee ...

, forcing beekeepers to extract the honey within 24 hours of it being capped. As a biolubricant, rapeseed has possible uses for bio-medical applications (e.g., lubricants for artificial joints) and the use of personal lubricant for sexual purposes. Biolubricant containing 70% or more canola/rapeseed oil has replaced petroleum-based chainsaw oil in Austria although it is typically more expensive. Rapeseed has been researched as a means of containing

radionuclide A radionuclide (radioactive nuclide, radioisotope or radioactive isotope) is a nuclide that has excess nuclear energy, making it unstable. This excess energy can be used in one of three ways: emitted from the nucleus as gamma radiation; transfer ...

s that contaminated the soil after the

Chernobyl disaster The Chernobyl disaster was a nuclear accident that occurred on 26 April 1986 at the No. 4 reactor in the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, near the city of Pripyat in the north of the Ukrainian SSR in the Soviet Union. It is one of only two nuc ...

as it has a rate of uptake up to three times more than other grains, and only about 3 to 6% of the radionuclides go into the oilseeds.

Cultivation

Champ de colza Côte-d'Or Bourgogne avril 2014

Crops from the genus ''

Brassica ''Brassica'' () is a genus of plants in the cabbage and mustard family (Brassicaceae). The members of the genus are informally known as cruciferous vegetables, cabbages, or mustard plants. Crops from this genus are sometimes called ''cole cr ...

'', including rapeseed, were among the earliest plants to be widely cultivated by mankind as early as 10,000 years ago. Rapeseed was being cultivated in India as early as 4000 B.C. and it spread to China and Japan 2000 years ago. Rapeseed oil is predominantly cultivated in its winter form in most of Europe and Asia due to the requirement of

vernalization Vernalization (from Latin ''vernus'', "of the spring") is the induction of a plant's flowering process by exposure to the prolonged cold of winter, or by an artificial equivalent. After vernalization, plants have acquired the ability to flower, ...

to start the process of flowering. It is sown in autumn and remains in a leaf rosette on the soil surface during the winter. The plant grows a long vertical stem in the next spring followed by lateral branch development. It generally flowers in late spring with the process of pod development and ripening occurring over a period of 6–8 weeks until midsummer. In Europe, winter rapeseed is grown as an annual break crop in three to four-year rotations with cereals such as

wheat Wheat is a grass widely cultivated for its seed, a cereal grain that is a worldwide staple food. The many species of wheat together make up the genus ''Triticum'' ; the most widely grown is common wheat (''T. aestivum''). The archaeologi ...

and

barley Barley (''Hordeum vulgare''), a member of the grass family, is a major cereal grain grown in temperate climates globally. It was one of the first cultivated grains, particularly in Eurasia as early as 10,000 years ago. Globally 70% of barley pr ...

, and break crops such as

peas The pea is most commonly the small spherical seed or the seed-pod of the flowering plant species ''Pisum sativum''. Each pod contains several peas, which can be green or yellow. Botanically, pea pods are fruit, since they contain seeds and d ...

and

beans A bean is the seed of several plants in the family Fabaceae, which are used as vegetables for human or animal food. They can be cooked in many different ways, including boiling, frying, and baking, and are used in many traditional dishes th ...

. This is done to reduce the possibility of pests and diseases being carried over from one crop to another. Winter rape is less susceptible to

crop failure Harvesting is the process of gathering a ripe crop from the fields. Reaping is the cutting of grain or pulse for harvest, typically using a scythe, sickle, or reaper. On smaller farms with minimal mechanization, harvesting is the most labor-i ...

as it is more vigorous than the summer variety and can compensate for damage done by pests. Field in Kärkölä

Spring rapeseed is cultivated in Canada, northern Europe and Australia as it is not winter-hardy and does not require vernalization. The crop is sown in spring with stem development happening immediately after

germination Germination is the process by which an organism grows from a seed or spore. The term is applied to the sprouting of a seedling from a seed of an angiosperm or gymnosperm, the growth of a sporeling from a spore, such as the spores of fungi, fer ...

. Rapeseed can be cultivated on a wide variety of well-drained soils, prefers a pH between 5.5 and 8.3 and has a moderate tolerance of

soil salinity Soil salinity is the salt content in the soil; the process of increasing the salt content is known as salinization. Salts occur naturally within soils and water. Salination can be caused by natural processes such as mineral weathering or by the ...

. It is predominantly a

wind-pollinated Anemophily or wind pollination is a form of pollination whereby pollen is distributed by wind. Almost all gymnosperms are anemophilous, as are many plants in the order Poales, including grasses, sedges, and rushes. Other common anemophilous plan ...

plant but shows significantly increased grain yields when bee-pollinated, almost double the final yield but the effect is cultivar-dependent. It is currently grown with high levels of nitrogen-containing fertilisers, and the manufacture of these generates N₂O. An estimated 3–5% of nitrogen provided as fertilizer for rapeseed is converted to N₂O.

Climate change

The cultivatable range for rapeseed is both expected to decrease due to climate change, and where rapeseed is grown quality of the crop, in both yield and volume of oil is expected to decrease substantially. Some researchers recommend finding alternative varieties of ''Brassica'' for cultivation.

Diseases and pests

The main diseases of the winter rapeseed crop are ''

canker A plant canker is a small area of dead tissue, which grows slowly, often over years. Some cankers are of only minor consequence, but others are ultimately lethal and therefore can have major economic implications for agriculture and horticultur ...

'', light leaf spot (''

Pyrenopeziza brassicae ''Pyrenopeziza brassicae'' is a plant pathogen infecting Brassicaceae (formerly known as Cruciferae). References External links Index FungorumUSDA ARS Fungal Database Fungal plant pathogens and diseases Dermateaceae Fungi described ...

''), alternaria-'' and sclerotinia- stem rots. Canker causes

leaf spot A leaf spot is a limited, discoloured, diseased area of a leaf that is caused by fungal, bacterial or viral plant diseases, or by injuries from nematodes, insects, environmental factors, toxicity or herbicides. These discoloured spots or lesions ...

ting, and premature

ripening Ripening is a process in fruits that causes them to become more palatable. In general, fruit becomes sweeter, less green, and softer as it ripens. Even though the acidity of fruit increases as it ripens, the higher acidity level does not make the ...

and weakening of the stem during the autumn-winter (fall-winter) period. A conazole- or triazole- fungicide treatment is required in late autumn (fall) and in spring against canker while broad-spectrum fungicides are used during the spring-summer period for alternaria and sclerotinia control. Oilseed rape cannot be planted in close rotation with itself due to soil-borne diseases such as sclerotinia,

verticillium wilt Verticillium wilt is a wilt disease affecting over 350 species of eudicot plants. It is caused by six species of ''Verticillium'' fungi: ''V. dahliae'', ''V. albo-atrum'', ''V. longisporum'', ''V. nubilum'', ''V. theobromae'' and ''V. tricorpu ...

and

clubroot Clubroot is a common disease of cabbages, broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, radishes, turnips, stocks, wallflowers and other plants of the family Brassicaceae (Cruciferae). It is caused by ''Plasmodiophora brassicae'', which was once cons ...

. Transgenic rapeseed shows great promise for .

Transexpression A transgene is a gene that has been transferred naturally, or by any of a number of genetic engineering techniques, from one organism to another. The introduction of a transgene, in a process known as transgenesis, has the potential to change the ...

of a class II chitinase from

(''Hordeum vulgare'') and a

type I ribosome inactivating protein A ribosome-inactivating protein (RIP) is a protein synthesis inhibitor that acts at the eukaryote, eukaryotic ribosome. This protein family describes a large family of such proteins that work by acting as rRNA N-glycosylase (EC 3.2.2.22). They in ...

into '' B. juncea'' produces a large . Chhikara ''et al.'', 2012 finds that this combination of

transgene A transgene is a gene that has been transferred naturally, or by any of a number of genetic engineering techniques, from one organism to another. The introduction of a transgene, in a process known as transgenesis, has the potential to change the ...

s reduces

hypha A hypha (; ) is a long, branching, filamentous structure of a fungus, oomycete, or actinobacterium. In most fungi, hyphae are the main mode of vegetative growth, and are collectively called a mycelium. Structure A hypha consists of one or ...

l growth by 44% and delays disease presentation in ''

Alternaria brassicicola ''Alternaria brassicicola'' is a fungal necrotrophic plant pathogen that causes black spot disease on a wide range of hosts, particularly in the genus of ''Brassica'', including a number of economically important crops such as cabbage, Chinese ca ...

'' of ''juncea''.

Pests

Rapeseed is attacked by a wide variety of insects, , as well as wood pigeons. The brassica pod midge (''

Dasineura brassicae ''Dasineura brassicae'', the brassica pod midge, is a rapeseed Pest (organism), pest. Gallery File:Dasineura brassicae adult (24562493456).jpg, Female with the ovopositor visible File:Dasineura brassicae larva (24588608865).jpg, Larva on the gr ...

''), cabbage seed weevil (''

Ceutorhynchus ''Ceutorhynchus'' is a genus of true weevils in the tribe Ceutorhynchini. There are at least 400 described species in ''Ceutorhynchus''. ''Ceutorhynchus succinus'' Legalov, 2013 is a species from the Eocene of Europe found in Baltic amber.N ...

assimilis''), cabbage stem weevil ('' Ceutorhynchus pallidactylus''), cabbage stem flea beetle (''

Psylliodes chrysocephala ''Psylliodes chrysocephala'' or ''Psylliodes chrysocephalus'', commonly known as the cabbage-stem flea beetle, is a species of leaf beetle situated in the subfamily Galerucinae and the tribe Alticini (flea beetles). Description ''P. chrysocephal ...

''), rape stem weevil (''

napi'') and

pollen beetles Pollen beetle is an informal term for any species of beetle associated intimately with suitably pollen-rich species of flowers. Typically such a beetle is adapted to the pollen as a major part of its diet. Species in at least sixteen families of th ...

are the primary insect pests that prey on the oilseed rape crop in Europe. The insect pests can feed on developing pods to lay eggs inside and eat the developing seeds, bore into the plant's stem and feed on pollen, leaves and flowers. Synthetic

pyrethroid A pyrethroid is an organic compound similar to the natural pyrethrins, which are produced by the flowers of pyrethrums (''Chrysanthemum cinerariaefolium'' and ''Chrysanthemum coccineum, C. coccineum''). Pyrethroids are used as commercial and hou ...

insecticides are the main attack vector against insect pests though there is a large-scale use of

prophylactic Preventive healthcare, or prophylaxis, consists of measures taken for the purposes of disease prevention.Hugh R. Leavell and E. Gurney Clark as "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life, and promoting physical and mental hea ...

insecticides in many countries.

Molluscicide Molluscicides () – also known as snail baits, snail pellets, or slug pellets – are pesticides against molluscs, which are usually used in agriculture or gardening, in order to control gastropod pests specifically slugs and snails which damag ...

pellets are used either before or after sowing of the rapeseed crop to protect against slugs.

Genetics and breeding

In 2014 an

SNP array In molecular biology, SNP array is a type of DNA microarray which is used to detect polymorphisms within a population. A single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP), a variation at a single site in DNA, is the most frequent type of variation in the ge ...

was released for ''B. napus'' by Dalton-Morgan ''et al.'', and another by Clarke ''et al.'', in 2016, both of which have since become widely used in

molecular breeding Molecular breeding is the application of molecular biology tools, often in plant breedingVoosen P (2009Molecular Breeding Makes Crops Hardier and More Nutritious Markers, knockouts and other technical advances improve breeding without modifying gen ...

. In a demonstration of the importance of

epigenetics In biology, epigenetics is the study of stable phenotypic changes (known as ''marks'') that do not involve alterations in the DNA sequence. The Greek prefix '' epi-'' ( "over, outside of, around") in ''epigenetics'' implies features that are "o ...

, Hauben ''et al.'', 2009 found that

isogenic line Inbred strains (also called inbred lines, or rarely for animals linear animals) are individuals of a particular species which are nearly identical to each other in genotype due to long inbreeding. A strain is inbred when it has undergone at least 2 ...

s did ''not'' have identical energy use efficiencies in actual growing conditions, due to epigenetic differences. Specific locus amplified fragment sequencing ( SLAF-seq) was applied to ''B. napus'' by Geng ''et al.'', in 2016, revealing the genetics of the past domestication process, providing data for

genome-wide association studies In genomics, a genome-wide association study (GWA study, or GWAS), also known as whole genome association study (WGA study, or WGAS), is an observational study of a genome-wide set of genetic variants in different individuals to see if any varian ...

(GWAS), and being used to construct a

high-density linkage map Genetic linkage is the tendency of DNA sequences that are close together on a chromosome to be inherited together during the meiosis phase of sexual reproduction. Two genetic markers that are physically near to each other are unlikely to be separ ...

History of the cultivars

In 1973, Canadian agricultural scientists launched a marketing campaign to promote

consumption. Seed, oil, and protein meal derived from rapeseed cultivars which is low in erucic acid and low in glucosinolates was originally registered as a trademark, in 1978, of the Canola Council of Canada, as "canola". This is now a generic term for edible varieties of rapeseed but is still officially defined in Canada as rapeseed oil that "must contain less than 2% erucic acid and less than 30 µmol of glucosinolates per gram of air-dried oil-free meal." Following the European Parliament's Transport Biofuels Directive in 2003 promoting the use of biofuels, the cultivation of winter rapeseed increased dramatically in Europe.

Bayer Cropscience Bayer AG (, commonly pronounced ; ) is a German multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology company and one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world. Headquartered in Leverkusen, Bayer's areas of business include pharmaceutica ...

, in collaboration with BGI-Shenzhen, China, KeyGene, the Netherlands, and the University of Queensland, Australia, announced it had sequenced the entire genome of ''B. napus'' and its constituent genomes present in ''B. rapa'' and ''B. oleracea'' in 2009. The "A" genome component of the amphidiploid rapeseed species ''B. napus'' is currently being sequenced by the Multinational ''Brassica'' Genome Project. A

genetically modified Genetic engineering, also called genetic modification or genetic manipulation, is the modification and manipulation of an organism's genes using technology. It is a set of Genetic engineering techniques, technologies used to change the gene ...

-for-

glyphosate Glyphosate (IUPAC name: ''N''-(phosphonomethyl)glycine) is a broad-spectrum Herbicide, systemic herbicide and Crop desiccation, crop desiccant. It is an organophosphorus compound, specifically a phosphonate, which acts by inhibiting the plan ...

-tolerance variety of rapeseed which was developed in 1998 is considered to be the most disease- and drought-resistant canola. By 2009, 90% of the rapeseed crops planted in Canada were of this sort.

GMO cultivars

The

Monsanto The Monsanto Company () was an American agrochemical and agricultural biotechnology corporation founded in 1901 and headquartered in Creve Coeur, Missouri. Monsanto's best known product is Roundup, a glyphosate-based herbicide, developed in th ...

company

genetically engineered Genetic engineering, also called genetic modification or genetic manipulation, is the modification and manipulation of an organism's genes using technology. It is a set of technologies used to change the genetic makeup of cells, including t ...

new cultivars of rapeseed to be resistant to the effects of its

herbicide Herbicides (, ), also commonly known as weedkillers, are substances used to control undesired plants, also known as weeds.EPA. February 201Pesticides Industry. Sales and Usage 2006 and 2007: Market Estimates. Summary in press releasMain page fo ...

, Roundup. In 1998, they brought this to the Canadian market. Monsanto sought compensation from farmers found to have crops of this cultivar in their fields without paying a license fee. However, these farmers claimed that the pollen containing the ''Roundup Ready'' gene was blown into their fields and crossed with unaltered canola. Other farmers claimed that after spraying Roundup in non-canola fields to kill weeds before planting, ''Roundup Ready''

volunteers Volunteering is a voluntary act of an individual or group freely giving time and labor for community service. Many volunteers are specifically trained in the areas they work, such as medicine, education, or emergency rescue. Others serve ...

were left behind, causing extra expense to rid their fields of the weeds. In a closely followed legal battle, the

Supreme Court of Canada The Supreme Court of Canada (SCC; french: Cour suprême du Canada, CSC) is the Supreme court, highest court in the Court system of Canada, judicial system of Canada. It comprises List of Justices of the Supreme Court of Canada, nine justices, wh ...

found in favor of Monsanto's

patent infringement Patent infringement is the commission of a prohibited act with respect to a patented invention without permission from the patent holder. Permission may typically be granted in the form of a license. The definition of patent infringement may v ...

claim for unlicensed growing of ''Roundup Ready'' in its 2004 ruling on ''

Monsanto Canada Inc. v. Schmeiser ''Monsanto Canada Inc v Schmeiser'' 0041 S.C.R. 902, 2004 SCC 34 is a leading Supreme Court of Canada case on patent rights for biotechnology, between a Canadian canola farmer, Percy Schmeiser, and the agricultural biotechnology company Monsanto. ...

'', but also ruled that Schmeiser was not required to pay any damages. The case garnered international controversy, as a court-sanctioned legitimization for the global patent protection of

genetically modified crops Genetically modified crops (GM crops) are plants used in agriculture, the DNA of which has been modified using genetic engineering methods. Plant genomes can be engineered by physical methods or by use of ''Agrobacterium'' for the delivery of ...

. In March 2008, an

out-of-court settlement In law, a settlement is a resolution between disputing parties about a legal case, reached either before or after court action begins. A collective settlement is a settlement of multiple similar legal cases. The term also has other meanings in t ...

between Monsanto and Schmeiser agreed that Monsanto would clean up the entire GMO-canola crop on Schmeiser's farm, at a cost of about CAN$660.

Production

The

Food and Agriculture Organization The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)french: link=no, Organisation des Nations unies pour l'alimentation et l'agriculture; it, Organizzazione delle Nazioni Unite per l'Alimentazione e l'Agricoltura is an intern ...

reports global production of in the 2003–2004 season, and an estimated in the 2010–2011 season. Worldwide production of rapeseed (including canola) has increased sixfold between 1975 and 2007. The production of canola and rapeseed since 1975 has opened up the edible oil market for rapeseed oil. Since 2002, production of

has been steadily increasing in EU and U.S. to in 2006. Rapeseed oil is positioned to supply a good portion of the vegetable oils needed to produce that fuel. World production was thus expected to trend further upward between 2005 and 2015 as biodiesel content requirements in Europe go into effect.Canola, Growing Great 2016, The Canola Council of Canada, 2007, page 3, 10 } , - style="text-align:right;" , style="text-align:left;" , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , - style="text-align:right;" , style="text-align:left;" , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , - style="text-align:right;" , style="text-align:left;" , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , - style="text-align:right;" , style="text-align:left;" , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , - style="text-align:right;" , style="text-align:left;" , , , <, , <, , <, , <, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , - style="text-align:right;" , style="text-align:left;" , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , - style="text-align:right;" , style="text-align:left;" , , , <, , <, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , - style="text-align:right;" , style="text-align:left;" , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , - style="text-align:right;" , style="text-align:left;" , , , N/A, , N/A, , N/A, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , - style="text-align:right;" , style="text-align:left;" , , , <, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , - style="text-align:right;" , style="text-align:left;" , , , <, , <, , <, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , - style="text-align:right;" , style="text-align:left;" , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , - style="text-align:right;" , style="text-align:left;" , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , - style="text-align:right;" , style="text-align:left;" , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , - style="text-align:right;" , style="text-align:left;" , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , - style="text-align:right;" , style="text-align:left;" , , , N/A, , N/A, , N/A, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , - style="text-align:right;" , style="text-align:left;" , , , N/A, , N/A, , N/A, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , - style="text-align:right;" , style="text-align:left;" , World Total, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Explanatory notes

References

Citations

General sources

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External links

* * {{Authority control Asian vegetables Brassica Crops Edible nuts and seeds Energy crops Fodder Leaf vegetables Medicinal plants Plants described in 1753