Canola is less tolerant to drought than other crops but also grows poorly with too much water. Nutrients such as nitrogen, phosphorus and sulfur are important for healthy growth. Riley and her team are investigating these different factors as well as different canola plant genotypes to choose those genotypes most resilient to environmental conditions.
Different types of insect pests, such as the diamondback moth and flea beetles, can harm the plant. Canola is often grown with herbicides (weed-killers) and insecticides to protect it, but over time this can lead to “super” weeds or insects that no longer respond to the chemicals. Indeed, Riley mentioned there is a general trend in the agricultural industry of an increasing resistance to pesticides. Resistance to pesticides is analogous to bacterial resistance to antibiotics. A number of plant diseases also negatively impact the canola plant, such as clubroot and the fungal disease sclerotinia. Pathogens can survive in the soil for over five years, lying in wait for high moisture conditions.
Extreme weather conditions are also very unfavorable to the plant. Drought and heat waves are especially bad since excessive heat can injure or kill seedlings even in the presence of moisture, and high temperatures when the plant is flowering reduce the time the flower can receive and release pollen. Unfortunately, such conditions are expected to become more common with climate change.
