Triticale: from minor crop to major opportunity

A hybrid of wheat and rye, triticale is currently grown on an average of 200,000 acres each year in Canada. Compared to the country’s major crops like wheat, corn, canola and soybeans, triticale has made a relatively small impact on industry.

Why is CTBI putting time and resources into triticale? Because a convergence of economic, industrial, energy and environmental issues means that Canada’s crop mix can change. Today, people are looking for sustainable products. Tomorrow, they will demand these products. 

Industry needs a new and dependable feedstock for future generations of biorefined products and triticale has emerged as an ideal plant for seed and straw biomass production. By improving and promoting triticale's value as a biorefinery feedstock, CTBI will increase triticale’s value and foster a made-in Canada bioindustrial sector.

Triticale can be grown in more diverse Canadian geographies than just about any other crop. Its high yield potential for both straw and grain make it an attractive choice for Canadian growers. For material and chemical applications, it provides many attributes that the emerging bioindustrial sector is increasingly looking for. For co-product energy applications, it’s a better feedstock than corn in Canada. Put it all together and it’s clear the triticale opportunity is promising, substantial and deserving of resources.