LS Plant Breeding is one of a number of companies trialling herbicide-tolerant oilseed rape for possible use in the UK, it has emerged.

The company has two imazamox-resistant winter varieties in National List trials, but they will not be considered for national listing until next year.

It hopes that the trials will determine whether imazamox, an imidazolinone herbicide, and IMI-resistant oilseed rape cultivars are suitable for use in the UK.

The trials were part of a wider project involving other breeders, including Monsanto DSV and Pioneer, who also have material in UK National List trials, said Theo Labuda, managing director of LSPB.

“Imazamox is a herbicide not currently registered in the UK, but used in IMI-tolerant oilseed rape varieties in Canada and IMI-tolerant sunflowers in Eastern Europe,” explained Mr Labuda.

Mr Labuda said he understood BASF was seeking approval for imazamox to use on oilseed rape in the UK and Europe.

These were herbicide-tolerant lines, which were not genetically modified and they were developed using breeding techniques through mutagenesis, he added.

The breeding technique uses the plant cells’ natural gene-repair mechanisms where variation always occurs and produces changes that could only occur in nature, but in a directed way. When this happens in an uncontrolled manner natural variation occurs.

However, Mr Labuda said introducing IMI-tolerant oilseed rape varieties to the UK market was at this stage still a “concept rather than a commercially viable product”.

“If you look at the IMI-tolerant lines in National List trials at the moment, they are significantly lower yielding than existing lines,” he said.

“But, if as a concept, you believe that herbicide-tolerant material is going to be a benefit to growing the crop in the future but developing varieties by GM technology is not acceptable, then this is one way you could introduce herbicide-tolerance into the crop by natural means.”

BASF confirmed to Farmers Weekly that it was working with a range of breeders on this project.

“We are looking to optimise the technology to bring the best possible solutions to the market. This includes seed partners doing their part to ensure high performing varieties, that will bring real benefits to growers,” said BASF oilseed rape product manager Will Reyer.