Breeding for clubroot resistant spring canola (Brassica napusL.) for the Canadian prairies: Can the European winter canola cv. Mendel be used as a source of resistance?

Abstract

Rahman, H., Shakir, A. and Hasan, M. J. 2011. Breeding for clubroot resistant spring canola (Brassica napus L.) for the Canadian prairies: Can the European winter canola cv. Mendel be used as a source of resistance? Can. J. Plant Sci. 91: 447–458. Canola (Brassica napus L.) cultivars resistant to clubroot disease, caused by Plasmodiophora brassicae, are desired by the Canadian canola growers. Different genotypes of its two parental species B.rapa and B. olaeacea carry resistance to this disease. Furthermore, the European winter canola cultivar Mendel, which was bred through introgression of resistance from its parental species, also carries resistance to P.brassicae pathotypes prevelent in Europe. The objective of this study was to investigate the usefulness of resistance of Mendel for the development of clubroot-resistant canola cultivars for the Canadian prairies. For this, crosses between Mendel and two Canadian spring canola lines were made and pedigree breeding was followed. Plants with spring growth...