Reducing the frost sensitivity of Canola in Australia

Australian canola is sought after globally for its use as a food-grade oil, for biofuel production and as a stock feed. Australian canola production is on the rise; averaging more than three million metric tonnes annually, making up 15–20 per cent of the world’s export trade (AEGIC 2023). In financial year 2023, the production value of canola in Australia was estimated to amount to 6.47 billion Australian dollars, the highest value on record. This has largely been driven by favourable price and larger planted area.

There are three growth habits found in canola: spring, winter and semi-winter with the dominant type in Australia being winter and spring types with long season types better adapted to high rainfall zones whilst short season types are better adapted to areas with less rainfall and harsher temperature extremes (Lilley et al. 2019; Wrucke et al, 2019a, b). Despite marked increases in production, abiotic stresses such as frost remain a significant challenge for Australian growers. The risk of crop damaging frost events has increased over the last 60 years across the winter cropping regions of Australia, despite there being an overall increase in average day temperatures (Zheng et al. 2015; Crimp et al. 2016).

Spring radiation frost (SRF) typically occurs when there are clear skies, little to no wind, a temperature inversion, low dew-point temperatures and air temperatures that typically fall below 0°C during the night. Frost damage within a paddock can be highly variable and the extent of the damage will be dependent on additional factors such as soil type, soil moisture, cloud cover, wind speed, position in the landscape, plant developmental stage, nutrition and density (Slinger et al, 2023; DPIRD 2017). Due to its indeterminate nature, canola can compensate from early flowering frost stress through the production of more flowers as long as soil moisture is not limiting. However, if there is a late season frost event that coincides with pod development and grain filling, plants at this stage cannot develop any more flowers or pods and the plant is more severely affected (Slinger et al. 2023, Uppal, 2022).

This proposal aims to explore the option of genetic solutions to the ongoing challenge of canola frost damage in frost-prone production environments of Australia. This investment aims to:

• establish if there is adequate genetic diversity in canola at the reproductive stage of development for frost tolerance and

• develop a robust, reliable and consistent screening method for use in breeding.

Please note the following:

- Collaborations between research organisations, breeding companies and industry experts is encouraged and mandatory. All collaborations should designate a lead organisation as per the Tender Terms and Conditions.

- GRDC is seeking a 50:50 co-investment ratio for this contract. Please see the budget template for definitions of cash and in-kind.

- GRDC's strategic partnership, Analytics for the Australian Grains Industry (AAGI), can offer the following analytics support as a GRDC in-kind contribution: trial designs accounting for the genetic populations being examined, and statistical genetics analyses. To access this support, applicants must enquire with AAGI directly and describe the proposed scope of AAGI support in their tender. Please make enquiries to University of Queensland, attention Elizabeth Meier ([email hidden]). Successful applicants will be required to complete an Analytical Collaboration Plan to specify the data to be provided to AAGI and the analytics support AAGI will provide. Please note, applicants that decline AAGI support must provide a technical and value-for-money rationale for not using in-kind AAGI support.