? Rapeseed
Rapeseed (Brassica napus)
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae Division: Magnoliophyta Class: Magnoliopsida Order: Brassicales Family: Brassicaceae Genus: Brassica Species: B. napus
Binomial name
Brassica napus L.

Rapeseed (Brassica napus), also known as Rape, Oilseed Rape, Rapa, Rapaseed and (one particular cultivar) Canola, is a bright yellow flowering member (related to mustard) of the family Brassicaceae. The name is derived through Old English from a term for turnip, rapum (see Brassica napobrassica, which may be considered a cultivar of Brassica napus). Some botanists include the closely related Brassica campestris within B. napus. (See Triangle of U) Image File history File links Koeh-169. ... Scientific classification or biological classification is how biologists group and categorize extinct and living species of organisms (as opposed to folk taxonomy). ... Divisions Land plants (embryophytes) Non-vascular plants (bryophytes) Marchantiophyta - liverworts Anthocerotophyta - hornworts Bryophyta - mosses Vascular plants (tracheophytes) Lycopodiophyta - clubmosses Equisetophyta - horsetails Pteridophyta - true ferns Psilotophyta - whisk ferns Ophioglossophyta - adderstongues Seed plants (spermatophytes) †Pteridospermatophyta - seed ferns Pinophyta - conifers Cycadophyta - cycads Ginkgophyta - ginkgo Gnetophyta - gnetae Magnoliophyta - flowering plants Adiantum pedatum (a fern... Classes Magnoliopsida- Dicots Liliopsida- Monocots The flowering plants (also called angiosperms) are a major group of land plants. ... Young castor oil plant showing its prominent two embryonic leaves (cotyledons), that differ from the adult leaves An example of a trimerous and non-eudicot flower: Magnolia Dicotyledons or dicots are a group of flowering plants whose seed typically contains two embryonic leaves or cotyledons. ... Families See text The Brassicales are an order of flowering plants, belonging to the rosid group of dicotyledons. ... Genera See text. ... Species See text Brassica is a genus of plants in the mustard family (Brassicaceae). ... In biology, binomial nomenclature is the formal method of naming species. ... Carolus Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus, also known after his ennoblement as , (May 23, 1707 – January 10, 1778), was a Swedish botanist, physician and zoologist[1] who laid the foundations for the modern scheme of nomenclature. ... This Osteospermum Pink Whirls is a successful cultivar. ... Clivia miniata bears bright orange flowers. ... Genera See text. ... Old English (also called Anglo-Saxon) is an early form of the English language that was spoken in parts of what is now England and southern Scotland between the mid-fifth century and the mid-twelfth century. ... Binomial name Brassica napobrassica The rutabaga or swede or (yellow) turnip (Brassica napobrassica, or Brassica napus var. ... The Triangle of U is a theory which describes the evolution and relationships between members of the plant genus Brassica. ...

Cultivation and uses

Rapeseed is very widely cultivated throughout the world for the production of animal feed, vegetable oil for human consumption, and biodiesel; leading producers include the European Union, Canada, the United States, Australia, China and India. In India, it is grown on 13% of cropped land. According to the United States Department of Agriculture, rapeseed was the third leading source of vegetable oil in the world in 2000, after soybean and oil palm, and also the world's second leading source of protein meal, although only one-fifth of the production of the leading soybean meal. World production is growing rapidly, with FAO reporting that 36 million tonnes of rapeseed was produced in the 2003-4 season, and 46 million tonnes in 2004-5. In Europe, rapeseed is primarily cultivated for animal feed (due to its very high lipid and medium protein content), and is a leading option for Europeans to avoid importation of GMO products. In agriculture, fodder or animal feed is any foodstuff that is used specifically to feed livestock, such as cattle, sheep, chickens and pigs. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with cooking oil. ... Biodiesel sample Biodiesel refers to a diesel-equivalent, processed fuel derived from biological sources, also known as Vegidiesel, or even Vegifuel if produced from non-animal oils. ... The U.S. Department of Agriculture, also called the Agriculture Department, or USDA, is a Cabinet department of the United States Federal Government. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with cooking oil. ... This article or section contains information that has not been verified and thus might not be reliable. ... Species Elaeis guineensis Elaeis oleifera The oil palms (Elaeis) coomprise two species of the Arecaceae, or palm family. ... A representation of the 3D structure of myoglobin, showing coloured alpha helices. ... FAO can mean: Food and Agriculture Organization Faro Airport (Portugal), IATA airport code For (The) Attention Of This page concerning a three-letter acronym or abbreviation is a disambiguation page—a list of articles associated with the same title. ... Phyla Subregnum Parazoa Porifera (sponges) Subregnum Agnotozoa Placozoa (trichoplax) Orthonectida (orthonectids) Rhombozoa (dicyemids) Subregnum Eumetazoa Radiata (unranked) (radial symmetry) Ctenophora (comb jellies) Cnidaria (coral, jellyfish, anemones) Bilateria (unranked) (bilateral symmetry) Acoelomorpha (basal) Orthonectida (parasitic to flatworms, echinoderms, etc. ... The word feed has a number of uses: Feeding is supplying food. ... Figure 1: Structure of a Lipid. ... GMO is an abbreviation with several meanings: Genetically modified organism, an organism the genetic material of which has been altered using recombinant DNA technology Gulf, Mobile and Ohio Railroad (AAR reporting mark GMO), an American railroad carrier This page concerning a three-letter acronym or abbreviation is a disambiguation page...

Canola seeds

Natural rapeseed oil contains erucic acid, which is mildly toxic to humans in large doses but is used as a food additive in smaller doses. Canola is one of many selected cultivars of rapeseed bred to have a low erucic acid content. Canola was developed in Canada and its name is a contraction of "Canadian oil, low acid". The name was also chosen partly for marketing reasons, so successfully that the name is sometimes mis-applied to other cultivars of rapeseed. Canola seed File links The following pages link to this file: Rapeseed Categories: Department of Agriculture images ... Canola seed File links The following pages link to this file: Rapeseed Categories: Department of Agriculture images ... Erucic acid Erucic acid is a fatty acid found in rapeseed, wallflower seed, and mustard seed, making up 40 to 50 percent of their oil. ... Canola field near Red Deer, Alberta Canola field in Temora, New South Wales Canola field near Bindi Bindi Western Australia In agriculture, Canola is a trademarked cultivar of the rapeseed plant from which rapeseed oil is obtained. ... This Osteospermum Pink Whirls is a successful cultivar. ...

The rapeseed is the valuable, harvested component of the crop. The crop is also grown as a winter-cover crop. It provides good coverage of the soil in winter, and limits nitrogen run-off. The plant is ploughed back in the soil or used as bedding. Winter is one of the four seasons of temperate zones. ... In agriculture, a cover crop is grown to protect land from soil erosion and leaching of nutrients. ... Soil is the material on the surface of a lithosphere subject to weathering, and especially the earthy portion of that material. ... General Name, Symbol, Number nitrogen, N, 7 Chemical series nonmetals Group, Period, Block 15, 2, p Appearance colorless Atomic mass 14. ...

Processing of rapeseed for oil production provides rapeseed animal meal as a by-product. The by-product is a high-protein animal feed, competitive with soya. The feed is mostly employed for cattle feeding, but also for pigs and chickens (though less valuable for these). The meal has a very low content of the glucosinolates responsible for metabolism disruption in cattle and pigs. Rapeseed "oil cake" is also used as a fertilizer in China, and may be used for ornamentals, such as Bonsai, as well. This article or section contains information that has not been verified and thus might not be reliable. ... Binomial name Bos taurus Linnaeus, 1758 Cattle (called cows in vernacular usage, kine archaic, or ky as the Scots plural of coo) are domesticated ungulates, a member of the subfamily Bovinae of the family Bovidae. ... Species Sus barbatus Sus bucculentus Sus cebifrons Sus celebensis Sus domesticus Sus heureni Sus philippensis Sus salvanius Sus scrofa Sus timoriensis Sus verrucosus Pigs are ungulates native to Eurasia collectively grouped under the genus Sus within the Suidae family. ... Trinomial name Gallus gallus domesticus A chicken (Gallus gallus domesticus) is a type of domesticated bird which is often raised as a type of poultry. ...

Rapeseed leaves and stems are also edible, similar to those of the related bok choy or kale. Some varieties of rapeseed (called 油菜, yóu cài, lit. "oil vegetable" in Chinese; yu choy in Cantonese; and nanohana in Japanese) are sold as greens, primarily in Asian groceries. In botany, a leaf is an above-ground plant organ specialized for photosynthesis. ... Trinomial name Brassica campestris L. pekinensis Bok choy (Brassica campestris, Chinese 白菜 báicài) is an Asian relative of the common cabbage. ... Curly kale Kale is a form of cabbage (Brassica oleracea Acephala Group) in which the central leaves do not form a head. ...

Rapeseed is a heavy nectar producer, and honeybees produce a light colored, but peppery honey from it. It must be extracted immediately after processing is finished, as it will quickly granulate in the honeycomb and will be impossible to extract. The honey is usually blended with milder honeys, if used for table use, or sold as bakery grade. Rapeseed growers contract with beekeepers for the pollination of the crop. In Greek mythology, nectar and ambrosia are the food of the gods. ... Species A. mellifera— western honeybee A. cerana— eastern honeybee Honeybees are a subset of bees which fall into the Order Hymenoptera and Suborder Apocrita. ... Honey honey comb A capped frame of honeycomb Honey is a sweet and viscous fluid produced by honeybees and other insects from the nectar of flowers. ... Honeycomb on a Langstroth frame A honeycomb is a mass of hexagonal wax cells built by honeybees in their nests to contain their larvae and stores of honey and pollen. ... Bakery foods A baker is someone who bakes and sells bread, cakes and similar foods. ... A contract is a promise or an agreement that is enforced or recognized by the law. ... Beekeeping (or apiculture) is the maintenance of one or more hives of honeybees. ...

Biodiesel

Rapeseed Field, Baalborn, Germany

Rapeseed oil is used in the manufacture of biodiesel for powering motor vehicles. Biodiesel may be used in pure form without engine damage, although will typically be combined with standard diesel in ratios varying from 2% to 20% biodiesel, due to the costs of growing, crushing, and refining rapeseed biodiesel, which are higher than that of the production of standard diesel fuel. Prices of rapeseed oil are at very high levels presently (start November 05) due to increased demand on rapeseed oil for this purpose. Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (2848x2136, 4307 KB) Summary Rapeseed field in Baalborn, Germany Picture taken by myself Licensing Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (2848x2136, 4307 KB) Summary Rapeseed field in Baalborn, Germany Picture taken by myself Licensing Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1. ... Biodiesel sample Biodiesel refers to a diesel-equivalent, processed fuel derived from biological sources, also known as Vegidiesel, or even Vegifuel if produced from non-animal oils. ... Diesel or Diesel fuel is a specific fractional distillate of fuel oil (mostly petroleum) that is used as fuel in a diesel engine invented by German engineer Rudolf Diesel. ...

Rapeseed and health

Rapeseed has been linked with adverse effects in asthma and hay fever sufferers. Some suggest that oilseed pollen is the cause of increased breathing difficulties. This is unlikely however, as rapeseed is an entomophilous crop, with pollen transfer primarily by insects. Others suggest that it is the inhalation of oilseed rape dust that causes this, and that allergies to the pollen are relatively rare. There may also be another effect at work; since rapeseed in flower has a distinctive and pungent smell, hayfever sufferers may wrongly jump to the conclusion that it is the rapeseed that is to blame simply because they can smell it. For the play, see Hay Fever Allergic rhinitis, also called pollinosis, hay fever or nasal allergies, and often also written together as hayfever, is a collection of symptoms, predominantly in the nose and eyes, that occur after exposure to airborne particles of dust, dander, or the pollens of certain seasonal... SEM image of pollen grains from a variety of common plants: sunflower (Helianthus annuus), morning glory (Ipomoea purpurea), hollyhock (Sildalcea malviflora), lily (Lilium auratum), primrose (Oenothera fruticosa), and castor bean (Ricinus communis). ... Classes & Orders See taxonomy Insects are invertebrate animals of the Class Insecta, the largest and (on land) most widely-distributed taxon within the phylum Arthropoda. ... An allergy can refer to several kinds of immune reactions including Type I hypersensitivity in which a persons body is hypersensitised and develops IgE type antibodies to typical proteins. ...

flowers

Image File history File links Raps-Blütenstand. ... Image File history File links Raps-Blütenstand. ...

Controversy

The Monsanto Company has genetically engineered new cultivars of rapeseed that are resistant to the effects of the herbicide Roundup. They have been vigorously prosecuting farmers found to have the Roundup Ready gene in Canola in their fields without paying a license fee. These farmers have claimed the Roundup Ready gene was blown into their fields and crossed with unaltered Canola. Other farmers claim that after spraying Roundup in non-Canola fields to kill weeds before planting, Roundup Ready volunteers are left behind, causing extra expense to rid their fields of the weeds. Monsanto Company (NYSE: MON) is a multinational agricultural biotechnology corporation. ... An iconic image of genetic engineering; this 1986 autoluminograph of a glowing transgenic tobacco plant bearing the luciferase gene of the firefly strikingly demonstrates the power and potential of genetic manipulation. ... A herbicide is a pesticide used to kill unwanted plants. ... Roundup is the brand name of a systemic, broad-spectrum herbicide produced by the U.S. life sciences giant Monsanto. ... This stylistic schematic diagram shows a gene in relation to the double helix structure of DNA and to a chromosome (right). ...

In a closely followed legal battle, the Supreme Court of Canada found in favor of Monsanto's patent infringement claim for illegal growing of Roundup Ready in its 2004 ruling on Monsanto Canada Inc. v. Schmeiser. The case garnered international controversy as a court-sanctioned legitimation for the global patent protection of genetically modified crops. The Supreme Court Building in Ottawa The Supreme Court of Canada (French: Cour suprême du Canada) is highest court of Canada and is the final court of appeal for all litigants in the Canadian justice system. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...

There is also major concern that the extensive use of herbicide led to significant loss of biodiversity as wildflowers ("weeds") are killed, leaving other wildlife dependent on the wildflowers unable to survive. Rainforests are the most biodiverse ecosystems on earth Biodiversity or biological diversity is the diversity of life. ... Five wildflower species A wildflower is a flower that grows wild, meaning it was not intentionally seeded or planted. ... A weed is an unwanted plant. ... Various species of deer are commonly seen wildlife across the Americas and Eurasia. ...

Production

Worldwide production of rapeseed (including canola) rose to 36 million feet in 2003-2004 (source FAO). FAO can mean: Food and Agriculture Organization Faro Airport (Portugal), IATA airport code For (The) Attention Of This page concerning a three-letter acronym or abbreviation is a disambiguation page—a list of articles associated with the same title. ...

Flowers.

Rapeseed field in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany

ImageMetadata File history File links Download high resolution version (3038x2012, 873 KB) Description: Rapeseed, Brassica napus, flowers. ... ImageMetadata File history File links Download high resolution version (3038x2012, 873 KB) Description: Rapeseed, Brassica napus, flowers. ... Image File history File links Rape-fieldSH.jpg Rape Field in Schleswig-Holstein Source: Jan van der Crabben (Photographer) File links The following pages link to this file: Schleswig-Holstein Rapeseed ... Image File history File links Rape-fieldSH.jpg Rape Field in Schleswig-Holstein Source: Jan van der Crabben (Photographer) File links The following pages link to this file: Schleswig-Holstein Rapeseed ... Schleswig-Holstein is the northernmost of the 16 Bundesländer in Germany. ...

Pests and diseases affecting rapeseed

Animal pests

• Flea beetles (Phyllotreta sp.),
• Diamondback moths (Plutella xylostella),
• Bertha armyworms (Mamestra configurata),
• Root maggots (Delia sp.)
• Grasshoppers
• Lygus bugs (Lygus)
• Bronzed field beetle larvae
• Snails and slugs

... Flea beetle is a generic common name applied to many small flea-like beetles. ... Families Superfamily: Tridactyloidea Cylindrachaetidae Ripipterygidae Tridactylidae Superfamily: Tetrigoidea Tetrigidae Superfamily: Eumastacoidea Chorotypidae Episactidae Eumastacidae Euschmidtiidae Mastacideidae Morabidae Proscopiidae Thericleidae Superfamily: Pneumoroidea Pneumoridae Superfamily: Pyrgomorphoidea Pyrgomorphidae Superfamily: Acridoidea Acrididae Charilaidae Dericorythidae Lathiceridae Lentulidae Lithidiidae Ommexechidae Pamphagidae Pyrgacrididae Romaleidae Tristiridae Superfamily: Tanaoceroidea Tanaoceridae Superfamily: Trigonopterygoidea Trigonopterygidae Xyronotidae Grasshoppers are herbivorous insects of... The Lygus bug (Lygus spp. ... The name snail applies to most members of the molluscan class Gastropoda that have coiled shells. ... Slugs are gastropod molluscs without shells or with very small internal shells, in contrast to snails, which have a prominent coiled shell. ...

Diseases

• Beet Western Yellows virus
• Blackleg, caused by the fungus Leptosphaeria maculans
• Clubroot, caused by protist Plasmodiophora brassicae
• Sclerotinia white stem rot

The word blackleg has more than one meaning:- A slang term for a strike-breaker. ... Clubroot is a disease of cabbages, radishes, turnips, and other plants belonging to the family Cruciferae (mustard family). ... Typical phyla Rhodophyta (red algae) Chromista Heterokontophyta (heterokonts) Haptophyta Cryptophyta (cryptomonads) Alveolates Dinoflagellata Apicomplexa Ciliophora (ciliates) Excavates Euglenozoa Percolozoa Metamonada Rhizaria Radiolaria Foraminifera Cercozoa Amoebozoa Choanozoa Many others; classification varies Protists (IPA: ) are a heterogeneous group of living things, comprising those eukaryotes that are neither animals, plants, nor fungi. ...

See also

• canola
• biosafety
• transgenic plants
• Triangle of U

Canola field near Red Deer, Alberta Canola field in Temora, New South Wales Canola field near Bindi Bindi Western Australia In agriculture, Canola is a trademarked cultivar of the rapeseed plant from which rapeseed oil is obtained. ... Biosafety: prevention of large-scale loss of biological integrity, focusing both on ecology and human health. ... Transgenic plants are plants that have been genetically engineered, a breeding approach that uses recombinant DNA techniques to create plants with new characteristics. ... The Triangle of U is a theory which describes the evolution and relationships between members of the plant genus Brassica. ...

Reference

FAO. December 2004 oilcrops market assessment, 2004

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Brassica napus

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External links

• Canola Council on truth and myths about Canola
• Origins of Canola oil is toxic falsehood.