The last thing University of Calgary PhD student Logan Skori’s father, Ellie, and other canola farmers want to see when they harvest their crops are green seeds.
The last thing University of Calgary PhD student Logan Skori’s father, Ellie, and other canola farmers want to see when they harvest their crops are green seeds.
Late season, non-lethal frost prevents chlorophyll, a photosynthetic pigment in the seeds of the valuable oilseed crop, from naturally breaking down, or “degreening,” and producing a high-quality yellow embryo at seed maturity.
Grade No. 1 canola cannot have more than two per cent of green seeds, but frost can substantially increase this percentage. When green seeds are processed to extract canola oil, the chlorophyll reduces the oil’s storability and quality.
Farmers receive a lower price for frost-damaged green seed canola, which costs them an estimated $150 million annually.
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Image via University of Calgary.
