Plant Growth Regulator Extracts from Seaweeds Confer Drought Tolerance in Canola
Canola, is an important oilseed crop in Canada contributing over 29.9 billion Canadian dollars of economic activity annually. A major challenge facing Canadian canola is drought, which has been increasingly prevalent in recent years due to the changing climate. Research investigating agronomic techniques in mitigating the drought problem is key to higher yields and sustainability in canola. One such technique is the use of seaweed extracts as bio-stimulant sprays to help offset biotic and abiotic stresses in plants. Bio-stimulant sprays can act as a novel alternative method to promote beneficial agronomic traits, independent of genetic manipulation and can lead to reduced fertilizer use.
Researchers at University of Calgary in collaboration with our colleagues at Timac Agro International, the Centre Mondial de l’Innovation Roullier and Dr. Marcus Samuel have been able to demonstrate that the Roullier extracts (RE) can help promote drought tolerance in canola. These extracts elicit responses in plants that are currently achieved only through gene editing and transgenic methodologies. This work was presented at the Plant Biology 2022 Conference in Oregon in July, 2022.
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