News Canola
Cibus launches new canola varieties under seed brand Falco

Cibus, a U.S. biotechnology company, announced the launch of its new seed brand, Falco, offering North American canola growers four new canola varieties for the 2019 growing season, with additional varieties planned for next season.

The hybrids are sulfonylurea herbicide-tolerant and non-transgenic, meaning the hybrids were bred without using foreign genetic material (genetic material from a different species). In a previous release, Cibus said the major benefit of SU-tolerant canola was its ability to fit into rotations, especially with Round Up Ready soybeans, and control weeds that are tolerant to Roundup.

“Cibus plans to launch multiple stacked traits in its Falco seed during the next several years, including pod-shatter shatter tolerance, tolerance to multiple herbicides and resistance to disease,” said Peter Beetham, Cibus co-founder.

Canola growers have the opportunity sell their Falco grain via premium contracts in Canada and the U.S. through relationships Cibus has established with North American grain crushers. Cibus’ new variety has been approved by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency and Health Canada for sale in Canada in 2017.

Varieties available for the 2019 growing season include 68K in both Canada and the U.S., in addition to 32K and 40K in the U.S. All varieties offer sulfonylurea herbicide tolerance and premium contract opportunities through preferred partners.