Genetic variation for seed hull and fibre content in a collection of European winter oilseed rape material (Brassica napus L.) and development of NIRS calibrations

With 2 figures and 6 tables ABSTRACT: After oil extraction, the meal of oilseed rape provides an important protein‐rich animal feedstuff. However, compared with soybean meal, the crude fibre content of oilseed rape meal is too high. The objectives of the present study were to analyse the genetic variation for and the environmental influence on the seed hull, neutral detergent fibre (NDF), acid detergent fibre (ADF) and acid detergent lignin (ADL) content of 28 black‐seeded winter oilseed rape cultivars tested in field experiments in Germany and to develop near‐infrared reflectance spectroscopic calibrations (NIRS). Significant effects of the genotype and of the location on all traits were found. NIRS calibrations showed in independent validations low standard errors [SEP(C)] of about 1% for NDF, ADF and ADL contents in the defatted meal and coefficients of determination (R2V) ranging from 0.72 for NDF to 0.80 for ADF. Results indicate a large genetic variation for NDF, ADF and ADL contents among current black‐seeded winter oilseed rape cultivars, which can be used to develop new improved cultivars with reduced crude fibre content.