b"SEED OF THE YEAR 2021GOLDEN ACHIEVEMENTInVigor hybrid canola's second Pod Shatter Reduction variety changed the way farmers harvest their crop.CANOLA DESIGNED TOreduce pod shatter has changed the way farmers do business. Jeff Mansiere and Stewart Brandt are two of the BASF Canada Agricultural Solutions plant breeders they have to thank for that.Mansiere, Brandt and their breeding team are behind InVigor L233P hybrid canola from BASF. Launched in 2017, its the second Pod Shatter Reduction hybrid intro-duced by BASF and has been grown on more than 20 million acres across Canada. In both 2019 and 2020, InVigor L233P made up more than a quarter of the canola acres planted in Western Canada.As a result, InVigor L233P has been selected by Germinations editorial board as the 2021s Seed of the Yearthe first canola to win the honour in the awardsCanola breeder Jeff Mansiere grewInVigor L233P co-creator Stewart history.up on a mixed farm in northeastBrandt comes from a long line of InVigor L233P was our opportunity to get a PodSaskatchewan. Saskatchewan farmers.Shatter Reduction hybrid into the hands of growers so they could experience the benefits, Brandt says. It did all that and more. As a plant breeder, you dont ever expect a hybrid will become as popular as InVigor L233PTHAT WOW MOMENT IS PROBABLY THE has become. To say it had an impact would be an under-statement. BEST PART OF USING A NEW TECHNOLOGY IN It is expected that by the end of the 2021 crop season, InVigor L233P will surpass InVigor 5440 for the most acresAGRICULTURE AND BEING IMPRESSED WITH IT.of InVigor grown by a single InVigor hybrid. The hybrid Kristjan Hebertwon the Canola Performance Trials (CPTs) straight cut trials in 2018 for the highest yield when averaged across all the growing zones.By allowing canola seeds to fully mature while the crop is standing, Pod Shatter Reduction technology has been shown to increase yields by as much as five per cent in internal trials. Its also made straight cutting canola far more practical. But perhaps most significantly, pod shatter reduction technology allows for more flexibility at harvest, as farmers can wait for the crop to evenly mature and not worry about the plants shedding their seed.Kristjan Hebert knows these benefits well. The man-aging partner for Hebert Grain Ventures in Moosomin, Sask., first grew InVigor L233P in 2016 as a plot. What it allows us to do, even when were going to swath, is give the canola a lot more time to mature across the whole field. Straight cutting is another great tool to have in the toolbox and Pod Shatter Reduction technologyWade Stocker is canola seeds andKristjan Hebert is managing really makes that possible, he says. traits manager for BASF Canada. partner for Hebert Grain Ventures.8GERMINATION.CAMARCH 2021"