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History of the rapeseed (Brassica napus l.) growing and breeding from middle age Europe to Canberra

Petr Baranyk, Andrej Fábry

Czech University of Agriculture, Prague, 165 21 Prague 6 - Suchdol, Czech Republic

Abstract

Based on the study of both manuscript and archival sources there is at first the introduction and growing of the oleic form of B. campestris L. with the following view to the hypothesis about origin of the oleic form of B. napus and history of its expanding reviewed. Cultivation of B. napus is supported by the evidence since 1578 in western Europe and since 1587 in the region of the Czech Republic.

Evolution and spreading of this group of oilseeds is observed from the old times till nowadays regarding to the beginning of breeding.

Milestones of the development of the modern breeding and technical progress in B. napus are chronologically and briefly mentioned in the period from the 1st International Symposium for the Chemistry and Technology of Rapeseed Oil and Other Cruciferae 1967 in Gdańsk (Poland) till the 10th International Rapeseed Congress in Canberra.

Keywords

Terminology, development of breeding, cultivation, production

Botanical terminology since prehistoric statements till 19th century is by the Brassica species, with the small exceptions, very changeable (Metzger, 1833). Still Schubart (1825) terms turnip rape as B. napus and an oilseed rape as B. oleracea. The common name for all these similar species in the world statistics is „RAPESEED“ at present.

The most spread wild and oldest cultivated species on Eurasia continent is undoubtedly B. rapa (n=10), syn. B. campestris (Sinskaia, 1928, 1973). Wild form of B. napus (n=19) was not determined and a hypothesis of its origin as a natural amphidiploid of species B. oleracea (n=9) and B. rapa (B. campestris, n=10) is generally accepted (Andersson and Ohlsson, 1961). Except for south-east Asia also west and south-west Europe is named as an area of origin. This place is considered by Vavilov (1926) as a gene centre where the oldest data about rapeseed growing are verified too.

Species from the genus Brassica were cultivated in ancient Rome and also in Gallia (Collumella and Palladius in Fussel, 1955). Seeds of these species were found in old German graves and Swiss constructions from the Bronze age (Witmack, 1904, Neuweiller, 1905, Schiemann, 1932). Term „Olisatum“ in Carl the Greate´s instructions related to German „Oelsaat“ was very probably the name for Brassica species with oleaginous seeds.

These oleaginous species have been probably cultivated in western Europe since the 13th century but more frequent are data from the 15th century (Mila, 1942). In Dodoneus´s herbalist (1578) is a statement about growing of Brassica rapa rapifera in 1470 as a winter crop. „It was a valuable fodder crop and seed was sold by peasants on the market in Gent and elsewhere“, he says (Fussel, 1995). In older herbalists and botanical statements generally growing of mentioned species is referred in the main in Belgium and Holland (Bock, 1577, Matthioli, 1596) - „Belgae oleum ex semine expressum“ (Dodonei, 1916). In the 16th century were these species commonly cultivated as fodder crops and for the seeds in Rhineland and in England (Fussel, 1955) - most of them thanks to Holland refugees. In this time the growing was spread eastwards to Thuringia, Saxony, Slesvig-Holstein and Brandenburg (Langethal, 1847-1856).

We have found a manuscript from the 15th century in the National Museum in Prague where the use of tree (olive) oil or lantern oil (B. napus, B. rapa) was recommended at Lent (anonymous author, 15th century). This statement is interesting because of most sources speaks only about how to use oils of B. napus and B. campestris for lighting purposes. Very interesting is also the statement of Czech author Cernobyl (1587): „Beet oil is also very good, if somebody knows how to remove bitterness from it“. It is an evidence about using rape oil for food in case of certain „rafination“.

Based on many sources we can declare that the species B. napus has been first and B. rapa (B. campestris) later on cultivated in Europe. Due to a higher economic value of B. napus there were B. rapa (B. campestris) drown out from growing, which continued only in roughlier northern and eastern areas of Europe.

These species were named „colza“ and „navette“ in France, „raepsaet“ and „sloren“ in Holland (Fussel, 1955). Denomination „Raps“ and „Rübsen“ was common in Germany, „kvetlice“ and „kolnik“ (B. napus ssp. rapifera) in Bohemia, respectively. Rapeseed similar to sugar beet can be designated as a „school crop“ in central Europe due to the need of new farming systems, fertilising, rotation etc. Influenced by the manufactory and industrial development the demand for oil has been increased for lighting and lubrication. In Bohemia for instance so much rape was cultivated in thirties of the 19th century that seeds were exported and pressed oil was imported back. This trend was interrupted at the end of 19th century under the influence of mineral oil utilisation, gas lighting and especially by cheap row material import from the colonial countries. We can use France as an example - today’s the biggest oilseed rape producer in Europe. Rapeseed was there cultivated on 200 000 ha in 1862 but acreage scaled down for only 5 543 ha (!) in 1939 due to the cheap import from the colonial states (Mila, 1942). Certain increase of growing was remarkable in the years of World War II as an effect of directive economy in some European countries.

In European conditions rapeseed goes ahead to the east by a virtue of new higher-quality cultivars and improved cropping technique. The border of successful growing represents river Dniester with the exception of the region Cuban and Caucasus. Sinskaia (1928) mentiones experimental cultivation in Bielorussia, in the vicinity of Novgorod, Kursk and St. Peterburg. Number of years without survival in hard winter conditions did not allowe profitable winter rapeseed production there. That is why agriculture has been focused on spring rapeseed, turnip rape, sarept-mustard and other spring oil crops. We have registered successful winter rapeseed production in area of Caucasus and in Carachaievo-Cherkes region (Fábry, 1992). Further progress in cropping of winter oilseed rape and turnip rape eastwards and northwards in Europe is limited by breeding varieties with better level of frost hardiness.

After the World War II good conditions for a dynamic trend in rapeseed growing in many west European countries were established. EC-countries after the rise of the European Economic Community (EEC) and due to launch of economic and subsidy supporting systems later on became important producers with an acreage more than 3 mil. ha of rapeseed in 1999 (ZMP, 1998). Boom of rapeseed cropping involves also such countries as Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia etc. in amount approximately 1 mil. ha. It was not the aim of this paper to focus on extra European countries, where growing has been spread into Canada since 1940 parallelly to traditional producers China and India, later on to the U.S.A. and at the end to Australia. World production at present time (1998) is estimated for 40 mil. t of seed (USDA, 1998).

Rapeseed production in Europe went ahead from the selection of better plants in the past till the purposive nowadays breeding. One of the oldest varieties has been bred by Hans Lembke from the local rape plants on north German island Poel (Baudis, 1990, 1998). We can find this variety in different form also in present breeding. We should remind the variety Janetzki originated from Silesia, which - based on good cropping features - spread to the west Ukraine. In spite of the decrease of importance of these local varieties, due to export and import of seeds, there are still some possibilities for their utilisation in current breeding. A brief overview of important changes in both cultivation and breeding of rapeseed expressed by the main topics of the last nine International Rapeseed Congresses is listed in Fig. 1.

Fig. 1: List of the main topics in the last 9 International Rapeseed Congresses

Gdańsk

Poland, 1967

Quality breeding, improved cropping technology, harvest mechanisation

Paris

France, 1970

Development of cropping technology, growth regulators, herbicides, minimalization of soil preparation, heterosis, breeding of fatty acid and glucosinolates content

St. Adele

Canada, 1970

Quality breeding, declaration of needs for change-over to the varieties with lower content of erucic acid, breeding of low glucosinolates content

Giessen

Germany, 1974

Beginning of change-over in European countries to low erucic acid varieties, rise of the first „0“ winter rapeseed variety LESIRA and spring varieties ORO and ERGLU, basic stone in history of rapeseed research (E. von Boguslawski), disease control, dietary value of rapeseed oil

Malmö

Sweden, 1978

Emphasis on quality - linolenic acid and glucosinolates, resistant disease breeding, increase of intensive cropping, methodology of variety trials

Paris

France, 1983

Europe-wide growing of non-erucic varieties and „00“ spring varieties in Canada, discussion about overwintering, hybrids and protection

Poznań

Poland, 1987

Resistant breeding, continuing of quality breeding, hybrids, CMS, Ogura, Polima, overwintering, frost resistance, growing systems as a whole, trace elements, S, B, growth regulators, „to measure“ breeding

Saskatoon

Canada, 1991

Password: rapeseed in changing world, biotechnology, GMO, hybrids, change of fatty acid pattern (oleic and lauric acid), selection on GSL composition, resistant breeding, inter-species breeding

Cambridge

G. Britain, 1995

Hybrid varieties, GMO, resistant, oil quality and glucosinolates breeding, S and B in fertilising, ecological aspects

References

Andersson and Ohlsson, 1961: Handbuch der Pflanzenzüchtung, Berlin, Hamburg

Baudis, H., 1990: Die Einweihung von Lembke-Denkmal etc. Malchow Poel

Baudis, H., 1998: Hans Lembke „zweites Arbeitsleben etc., Hohenlieth - Holtsee

Bock, 1577: Kräuterbuch, Strassburg

Černobyl, M., 1587: Zpráva o způsobu hospodaření, Praha

Dodonei, R., 1916: Stirpium historiae, Antwerp

Fábry, A., 1992: Olejniny, Praha

Fussel, G. E., 1955: History of cole (Brassica sp.), Nature, 176, 48-51

Langethal, Ch. E., 1847-1856: Geschichte der deutschen Landwirtschaft, Jena

Metzger, J., 1833: Syst. Beschreibung der Kohlarten, Heidelberg

Mila, L., 1942: Les cultures oléagineuses, Paris

Matthioli, P., 1596: Herbář jinak bylinář velmi užitečný, Praha

Neuweiller, 1905: Die prähistorische Pflanzenreste Mitteleuropas, Zürich

Schiemann, E., 1932: Entstehung der Kulturpflanzen, Berlin

Sinskaia, E. N., 1928: The oleiferous plants and root crops of the family Cruciferae, Bull. Apl. Bot. Gen. Plant-Breeding XIX. (3) Leningrad

Sinskaia, E. N., 1973: Historická geografie kulturních rostlin, Praha

Schubart, H., 1825: Anbau von Handelsgewächse, Leipzig

USDA, 1998: World Agricultural Production

Vavilov, N. I., 1926: Centry proischožděnija kulturnych rastěnij, Moskva-Leningrad

Witmack, L., 1904: Über die in Pompej gefundenen Pflanzenreste, Englers Bot. Jahrb. Bd. 33

ZMP, 1998

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