Herbicide tolerance in rape-seed breeding: results and prospects

The problem-polemic article is about the analysis of rapeseed breeding efficiency for herbicide tolerance. The main centers of rapeseed production are: 1) the American continent (Canada and the USA), 2) Europe (EU, CIS countries), and 3) Southeast Asia (India, China) and Australia. The world's rapeseed yield will increase by 10-12% during the next five years due to further extension of herbicide-resistant hybrids. Commercializing varieties and hybrids resistant to glufosinate ammonium, glyphosate and bromoxynil under Liberty Link®, Roundup Ready® and Navigator® brands, respectively, are bred with gene modification (GM) technologies. About 24% of the world's rapeseed area out of total 39 mln ha is planted with GM-seeds currently. Non-transgenic seeds resistant to triazine, imidazolinone, and sulfonylurea under the trademarks TT (triazine tolerant), Clearfield®, and Cibus correspondingly are bred with mutational methods of conventional breeding. The mergers and acquisitions of the global crop protection (CP) and seed companies re-shape the market for agricultural technologies, i.e. a set of innovative methods, database and know-how for seed sales with plant CP products and digital solutions package. Australia, Canada, China and Ukraine are the countries with the greatest potential to scale up the acreage and gross yield of rapeseed in the next five-seven years.