THIS MULTI-STATE, INTERDISCIPLINARY, AND INTEGRATED RESEARCH AND EXTENSION PROJECT WILL DELIVER PRACTICAL OUTCOMES TO MAKE WINTER CANOLA AN AGRONOMICALLY AND ECONOMICALLY VIABLE ROTATION CROP. THE LONG-TERM EXPECTED OUTCOME IS TO INCREASE WINTER CANOLA ACRES AND PRODUCTION IN THE CROPPING SYSTEMS OF THE SOUTHERN GREAT PLAINS. TO STIMULATE ACREAGE AND PRODUCTION INCREASES, THE PROJECT WILL FOCUS ON TWO IMPORTANT AREAS: 1) TESTING AND BREEDING TO DEVELOP SUPERIOR PERFORMING CANOLA CULTIVARS AND HYBRIDS THAT INCREASE PRODUCTIVITY, PROFITABILITY, AND ADAPTATION TO AN EXPANDED RANGE OF U.S. GROWING ENVIRONMENTS, AND 2) CONDUCTING APPLIED RESEARCH AND EXTENSION ACTIVITIES TO DEVELOP INNOVATIVE PLANTING AND MANAGEMENT METHODS FOR USE IN THE SOUTHERN GREAT PLAINS REGION. NEW CULTIVARS WILL POSSESS ENHANCED WINTER SURVIVAL, GREATER YIELD POTENTIAL, HIGHER OIL CONTENT, DISEASE TOLERANCE, AND HERBICIDE RESISTANCE. TO BUILD UPON PREVIOUS ESTABLISHMENT RESEARCH, WINTER CANOLA SOURCE-SINK RELATIONSHIPS CONTROLLING YIELD FORMATION WILL BE REVIEWED AND INTERPRETED. SEEDING RATES AND CROP GROWTH REGULATORS WILL BE STUDIED TO BOOST PRODUCTION. CROP INPUT OPTIMIZATION WILL BE OBSERVED THROUGH OMISSION OF CRITICAL INPUTS. DOUBLE CROPPING AND HERBICIDE CARRYOVER RESTRICTIONS WILL BE STUDIED FOR EFFECTIVE ROTATION WITH CANOLA. PHOSPHOROUS FERTILIZER MANAGEMENT WILL BE EVALUATED IN-DEPTH. CLIENTELE WILL RECEIVE TIMELY INFORMATION DELIVERED VIA FIELD DAYS, VIRTUAL TOURS, SCHOOLS, EXTENSION AND JOURNAL PUBLICATIONS, PROFESSIONAL MEETINGS, RADIO AND TELEVISION INTERVIEWS, WEB-BASED APPLICATIONS, PEER-TO-PEER INTERACTIONS, AND SOCIAL MEDIA. SUCCESS WILL BE MEASURED BY AN INCREASE OF WINTER CANOLA PLANTED ACRES, THE RELEASE OF NEW CULTIVARS, IMPROVED CONSISTENCY OF PRODUCTION USING RESEARCH-BASED RESULTS, AND PARTICIPATION AND FEEDBACK FROM EXTENSION ACTIVITIES.