Variability of quality traits in canola seed, oil and meal - a review

Summary

Canola is the third largest crop after wheat and barley and is widely grown in south east Australia and Western Australia. Production has increased from about 100,000 tonnes in the early 1990's to more than four million tonnes annually. Canola breeding programs in Australia have significantly enhanced canola as a commercially attractive oilseed crop. As current breeding programs tend to concentrate on production traits, such as increasing yield and oil content, as well as disease and insect resistance and drought tolerance, there has been minimal focus on oil and meal quality. Research is currently being undertaken with a view to determining the suitability of this material for inclusion into future breeding lines to increase the quality of the Australian canola germplasm.

Some of the topics covered in this paper include:

• Canola processing
• Canola seed physical parameters
• Canola oil composition
• Canola oil utilisation
• Types of canola meal
• Canola meal composition
• Canola meal utilisation