Canola is an annual herb belonging to the cruciferous family that originates from Europe and Central Asia. Rape, on the other hand, is a winter-to-spring flower that blooms from January to March, and it is colourful and fragrant. Rape flowers are rich in pollen, and their seeds contain 35%-50% oil, which can be used for oil extraction or as fodder.

Cultivating canola is relatively easy. Farmers usually sow canola seeds in their fields during the winter and spring fallow periods. The yellow flowers bloom approximately two months after sowing, and the following spring, farmers plough the canola into the soil to add nutrients.

The fruit produced after flowering is the primary raw material for edible vegetable oil. Since pollen is rich in nectar, it attracts colourful butterflies and small insects to fly among the flowers, thus adding to the colourful scenery of the countryside.

Nowadays, rapeseed has become an important oil crop worldwide. Rapeseed contains 40% to 50% oil and 24% to 32% crude protein, making it known as the "green oil bank." China is the world's largest oilseed rape-growing country, and other oilseed rape-producing countries include Canada, India, France, Germany, Poland, Sweden, and others.

Scientists predict that with the cultivation of high-quality rape varieties and the improvement of the oil extraction process, the planting area of rape will continue to expand, making it even more essential to human life.

Traditional canola oil is of poor quality mainly because the erucic acid content is too high, accounting for about 40% of the total fatty acid content, making it less easily absorbed by the human body.

The oleic acid and linoleic acid content, which are closely related to human health, are low, accounting for only about 30% of the total, while soybean, peanut, and other vegetable oils contain 70% or more. This makes vegetable oil relatively inferior in taste and nutrition. Additionally, the protein content of rapeseed meal (wilted cake) after oil extraction is high, up to 40%.

However, it contains a large amount of thioglucoside, which is harmful to animals, reducing the value of its use as animal feed. Therefore, scientists have been working on improving rape varieties, with the primary goal of reducing the erucic acid and thioglucoside content and breeding "double low" rape varieties, which will improve the content of oleic acid, linoleic acid, and oil content.

Since the 1940s, scientists have been searching for male sterile resources in oilseed rape, also known as "mother rape," to enhance the hybrid advantage, which will improve the yield and quality of oilseed rape. In 1974, Stephenson developed the world's first "double low" (low erucic acid, low sulfur glycosides) canola variety, solving the problem of toxic substances in the vegetable meal.

The new variety produces vegetable oil rich in oleic and linoleic acid, which greatly increases its nutritional value. The vegetable meal has also become a high-quality feed, increasing the economic benefits of rape.

Canola and rape are important crops that have various uses. Canola is easy to cultivate, and the fruit it produces is a vital raw material for edible vegetable oil.

On the other hand, rape has developed into an important oil crop worldwide, with a high oil and protein content. Scientists are continuously improving rape varieties to reduce harmful substances and improve their nutritional value, making them more essential to human life.