CANBERRA, AUSTRALIA — Australia is seeking to breed new canola varieties with greater frost resistance, providing producers with greater confidence to grow the oilseed crop, a major cash crop for the country.

A national genetic research project is underway, led by the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD) with Grains Research and Development Corp. (GRDC) co-investment, which includes the South Australian Research and Development Institute and New South Wales DPIRD. 

Australia’s total canola production for marketing year 2026-27 is projected to be 6.2 million tonnes, according to the Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) of the US Department of Agriculture. Australia is the world’s second largest exporter behind Canada, with 4.7 million tonnes forecast for 2026-27. 

Canola requires significant inputs to achieve yield potential, increasing the crop’s financial risk when sown in frost-prone environments, the DPIRD said. 

The “Reducing the frost sensitivity of Canola in Australia” project will screen existing and novel Australian and international canola lines to identify genetic material that can set viable pods under frost conditions.

Brenton Leske, DPIRD research scientist, said the project aims to deliver a stepwise change to frost management and canola production.

“Canola is particularly sensitive to frost damage at the flowering, pod development and pod filling stages,” Leske said. “This project includes two years of field trials to determine the level of genetic diversity for frost resistance, which can be used to breed new canola varieties with improved frost resistance.”

Field trials include a spatial grid of multiple temperature sensors to measure air temperature throughout the crop canopy to gain a full understanding of where the greatest frost effects are, Leske said. Air temperature, frost damage and plant height interactions also also be explored to relate these to yield loss due to frost.

Through this research, a screening method for suitable canola germplasm will be developed, along with two hybrid offspring populations with differing frost sensitivity for future research. 

Allison Pearson, GRDC manager genetic technologies – oilseeds, said frost can have a significant impact on canola yields, creating added risk for growers who have invested in establishing and managing the crop.

Pearson said that by identifying canola germplasm with improved tolerance to frost damage, the research will provide plant breeders with new tools to develop canola varieties better suited to Australia’s frost-prone grain regions.

“Ultimately, the project is about giving growers greater confidence to grow canola in frost prone regions, with new varieties better equipped to maintain yield when frost strikes,” Pearson said.

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John Reidy is senior digital media editor for World Grain, covering the grain, flour and feed industries. He spent 25 years in newspapers as a reporter and editor and has been an editor in the grain industry since 2019. He joined Sosland Publishing Company in 2021. He is a graduate of Creighton University with a degree in journalism. Connect with John Reidy on LinkedIn or via email.