Knowra Canola Canola Canola is an edible oilseed crop and its products, developed from rapeseed cultivars with low erucic acid in the oil and low glucosinolates in the meal.
Rapeseed : Rapeseed is seed harvested from oilseed crops in the genus Brassica, especially Brassica napus and Brassica rapa. Canola is a quality-defined subset of rapeseed, distinguished by its oil and meal composition.
Plant breeding : Plant breeding is the development of crop varieties with heritable traits suited to human needs. Canola arose by selecting and combining traits in oilseed Brassica crops.
Cooking oil : Cooking oil is edible oil used to prepare food through frying, baking, dressing, or other methods. Canola oil is widely used as a neutral-flavored cooking oil.
Traditional rapeseed oil : Traditional rapeseed oil is oil from older rapeseed varieties that can contain substantially more erucic acid than canola oil. Its higher erucic acid content distinguishes it from food-grade canola oil.
Brassica napus : Brassica napus is a flowering plant species that includes oilseed rape and many canola cultivars. Many canola varieties belong to this species.
Mutation breeding : Mutation breeding creates or uses genetic mutations to develop organisms with desired traits. Mutagenesis helped produce low-erucic-acid rapeseed lines used in early canola development.
Biodiesel : Biodiesel is a renewable diesel substitute made from fatty acid esters derived from oils or fats. Canola oil can serve as a feedstock for biodiesel production.
High-erucic-acid rapeseed oil : High-erucic-acid rapeseed oil is industrial oil produced from cultivars selected for elevated erucic acid content. It is a useful contrast: canola breeding selected low, not high, erucic acid.
Brassica rapa : Brassica rapa is a plant species that includes turnips, some Asian vegetables, and oilseed crops. Some canola cultivars are bred from this species rather than Brassica napus.
Fatty acid : A fatty acid is a carboxylic acid with a hydrocarbon chain, commonly found in fats and oils. Canola breeding altered the fatty-acid profile of the seed oil.
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