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SaskCanola commits $1.14 Million to collaborative canola research

The Saskatchewan Canola Development Commission (SaskCanola) has committed $1.14 million to 10 research projects funded under the Saskatchewan Agriculture Development Fund (ADF) in 2021.

Keith Fournier, SaskCanola research chair, said in a statement, “Ongoing research investments are key to ensuring that Saskatchewan farmers can address challenges they are seeing in the field so that their farm businesses continue to be profitable.”

These research projects range from one to five years in duration. A complete list of projects, including researchers and SaskCanola’s investment, is as follows:

• Modification of surface waxes for drought tolerance (Dr. Mark Smith, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada) – $44,550;
• Understanding disease mechanisms and resistance to clubroot (Dr. Kimberley MacKay, University of Saskatchewan) – $287,500;
• Evaluating contributions of crop residue breakdown for carbon sequestration and nitrogen transfer credit (Dr. Bobbi Helgason, University of Saskatchewan) – $79,698;
• Effects of crop rotation on stabilizing sequestered carbon (Dr. Bobbi Helgason, University of Saskatchewan) – $5,443;
• Evaluation of pesticides in honey and bee colonies (Dr. Elemir Simko, University of Saskatchewan) – $143,750;
• Determining the optimal rate of dual-inhibitor nitrogen fertilizer (Dr. Reynald Lemke, Agriculture & Agri-Food Canada) – $27,605;
• Using 4R fertility approaches for optimal yield and sustainability (Mr. Blake Weiseth, Discovery Farm) – $108,100;
• Quantifying combine auto-adjust capabilities for harvesting canola (Mr. Lorne Grieger, Prairie Agricultural Machinery Institute) – $64,282;
• Functional validation of clubroot resistance genes through high-thoroughput genome editing (Dr. Wei Xiao, University of Saskatchewan) – $248,975; and
• Development of allele specific genetic markers of blackleg resistance genes (Dr. Hossein Borhan, Agriculture & Agri-Food Canada) – $128,450