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Canola needs to enhance its production
Muhammad Tahir
Department of Agronomy
University of Agriculture, Faisalabad.
Pakistan is facing a severe deficit of edible oil and spending a huge amount of foreign exchange for its import. The national requirement is increasing every year due to the rapid growth of population and enhanced per capita demand. The local production of edible oil has not increased at the required rate. Infact, the area under oilseeds is decreasing and increased production is coming from the increased per acre yields of the oilseed crops. The main reasons for this static production of edible oil are:
a) Inadequate oilseeds research infra-structure.
b) Lack of efficient marketing system
c) Non-availability of quality seed
d) Lack of planting and harvesting machinery
e) Economic viability of oil seed crops.
The major oilseed crops compete with other food crops. Therefore, the area under oilseeds is decreasing year after year. The intercropping of oilseeds in other crops like wheat etc. has a potential for increasing area under oilseeds.
The non-true oilseed crops like cotton, maize etc. are contributing upto 73% towards the national edible oil production in the country. Whereas, the conventional oilseeds (rapeseed and mustards) rank second and contribute about 18-20% in the domestic edible oil production. Rapeseed and mustard oil is not a regular cooking oil due to the presence of higher erucic acid and glucosinolates and therefore, cannot be used more than 5% in oil blending for ghee manufacturing. The scientists have, therefore, been consistently striving hard to develop new strains of rapeseed and mustards with low erucic acid contents. Fortunately, the Candian breeders have developed double zero or double low canola varieties of Brassica napus species, which are being cultivated on large scale in Canada, U.S.A., Australia and many other countries of the world.
The canola seeds have abundant oil contents and sufficient protein percentage. Due to low erucic acid (0-0.5%) and glucosinolates (17-27 mmol/g) canola is more desirable for cooking as compared to the traditional rapeseed having 40-60% erucic acid and more than 100 m mol/g of glucosinolates. Higher percentage of erucic acid decrease taste and flavour while glucosinolates cause nutritional disorders and decrease palatability of meal.
Due to presence of unsaturated and essential fatty acids, canola oil is considered to be high quality oil, because high percentage of oleic acid dilute the concentration of cholesterol level which is present in human beings at certain level. Saturated fats blocked the circulation of blood in the body that ultimately leads to heart problems. So due to health concerns canola oil is recommended for better health as compared to other vegetable oils.
Introduction of canola in Pakistan has also shown success at many places. But it is passing through its introductory phase and sufficient informations regarding its successful production under varying socio-economic and environmental conditions are under trial.
Sowing of canola on marginal lands, inadequate and imbalanced application of fertilizer, presence of weeds and attack of insects are main causes of its low yield. Well-balanced, adequate and timely application of different fertilizer nutrients are the most important areas of fertilizer use technology to be considered a good toll to bridge up the gap (2450 kg ha-1) between potential (3700 kg ha-1) and average yield (1250 kg ha-1) of canola.
Although canola is gaining popularity among the farmers in Pakistan but area under this crop cannot be increased due to competition with other winter season crops. Under this situation intercropping could be an alternative approach for increasing production of canola without disturbing the area under other winter crops. Intercropping of crops with different growth behaviour can minimize competition for essential nutrients and also ensures better land utilization and higher income than monoculture.
Keeping in view the importance of canola as oilseed crop the writer conducted field experiments for his Ph. D. degree during 1999-2000 and 2000-2001 at the Agronomic Research Area, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad and in conclusions the results suggest that higher seed yield (3502 kg ha-1) and greater economic benefit (Rs. 37658 ha-1 can be obtained under Faisalabad conditions when the canola crop is fertilized @ 100-60-50 kg NPK ha-1, respectively. Moreover, for achieving the maximum yield advantages and net field benefits (Rs. 43126 ha-1) canola wheat intercropping can successfully be practiced without too much inter-crop competition. Meanwhile, canola + one row of wheat intercropping system appeared to be not only a productive practice but also highly profitable as compared to sole cropping of either component crop.
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