Technology transfer between analogous agro-climatic zones in northern latitudes

Two key limitations of contemporary Russian agriculture are the inadequate production of domestic vegetable oil and the protein deficit in livestock feed. Soybeans, the predominant source of vegetable oil and protein around the world, are not well-adapted for production in many parts of Russia, particularly in southwestern Siberia's continental climate. On the Canadian prairies (that share similar climate constraints with SW Siberia), canola (Brassica napus and Brassica rapa) is grown as a source of vegetable oil and livestock feed protein. The objectives of this study were to identify analogous agro-climatic zones in Canada and SW Siberia, and determine the adaptability of Canadian canola cultivars in the SW Siberian analogous zone. Based on latitude, soils and climate, the Omsk-Isilkul-Kurgan region of SW Siberia was determined to be analogous to the Strasbourg-Melfort-Muenster-North Battleford region of the Canadian prairies. B. napus cultivars had significantly higher yields than B. rapa cultivars, indicating that B. napus is a more promising species for SW Siberia. No significant differences were observed between the yields of the Western cultivars and the Russian cultivars for either Brassica species. The average yield of the hybrid Canadian B. napus cultivar was 2.6 t ha-1. This yield was greater than all other cultivars, including the Russian standards. The Russian B. napus cultivars had a more favorable erucic acid content (0.5%) than the Canadian B. napus cultivars (1.1%). Using the Environmental Policy/Integrated Climate (EPIC) model, crop growth simulations of the Canadian canola cultivars based on plot yields predicted a 30-year average yield potential of canola in Omsk of 3.27 t ha-1 for B. napus and 2.50 t ha-1 for B. rapa. This compares favorably to the long-term average farm yields in the Canadian analogous zone (1.3 t ha-1). Based on this study, canola cultivars may be successfully transferred between analogous agro-climatic zones in northern latitudes.