Harmonisation of Regulatory Oversight in Biotechnology Safety Assessment of Transgenic Organisms in the Environment, Volume 5..

152 – II.3. BRASSICA CROPS (BRASSICA SPP.)

Introduction

The plants within the family Brassicaceae constitute one of the world’s most

economically important plant groups. They range from noxious weeds to leaf and root

vegetables to oilseed and condiment crops. The cole vegetables are perhaps the best

known group. Indeed, the Brassica vegetables are a dietary staple in every part of the

world with the possible exception of the tropics. The Food and Agriculture Organization

of the United Nations estimates that world commercial production of cabbages,

cauliflowers, broccoli and other Brassica vegetables in 2013 was over 93 million tonnes

from about 3.7 million hectares, with a 2013 farm gate value of some USD 31 billion

(FAOSTAT, 2013). These figures do not include the root vegetables or the production

from kitchen gardens.

Less well known are the Brassica oilseed crops that annually occupy over

34 million hectares of the world’s agricultural lands (FAOSTAT, 2013). Because of their

ability to survive and grow at relatively low temperatures, they are one of the few edible

oil sources that can be successfully produced in cool temperate regions.

This characteristic makes them well adapted to cultivation at high elevations and

as winter crops in the subtropics. In temperate regions, oilseed rape (Brassica napus)^1 and

turnip rape (Brassica rapa) predominate, while in the subtropics of Asia, Indian mustard

or rai (Brassica juncea) is the major oil source. Among all the commodities moving in

world trade, only petroleum has a greater value than vegetable oils (United States Census

Bureau, n.d.; United Nations, n.d.). In total, Brassica oilseeds provide 15% of the world’s

edible vegetable oil and are the third most important source of edible oil after soybean

and palm (Table 3.1).

Table 3.1. World production of edible vegetable oils, averages 1996-2000 to 2011-15

Millions of tonnes

Crop 1996-2000 (MMt) 2001-05 (MMt) 2006-10 (MMt) 2011-15

(^2)
(MMt)
Soybean 22.4 29.8 36.8 46.2
Palm 18.3 28.2 40.8 58.5
Rape/mustard 11.8 13.7 19.1 25.7
Sunflower 8.9 8.4 11.0 14.7
Groundnut 4.3 4.9 4.8 5.5
Cottonseed 3.7 4.1 4.9 5.1
Others^1 7.9 9.5 11.2 13.1
Total 77.3 98.6 128.6 168.7
Notes:^ 1.^ Others include olive, coconut and palm kernel. 2. This column was added in January 2016.
Source: After USDA Foreign Agricultural Service (2015).
Species or taxonomic group
Classification and nomenclature
The family Brassicaceae (= Cruciferae) contains over 338 genera and 3 709 species
(Al-Shehbaz, Beilstein and Kellogg, 2006; Warwick, Francis and Al-Shehbaz, 2006).
The species of greatest interest to those concerned with genetically modified crops
are given in Table 3.2 with their chromosome number, genome identification and
common English name(s).