Cibus has announced that the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has granted a patent for the company's Pod Shatter Reduction (PSR) Trait. Pod shatter in canola occurs pre-harvest, when the pod seam and connective tissue of the sheath breaks apart and releases seeds, usually due to a weakened pod seam or inclement weather.

The PSR output trait, developed using precision breeding with the company’s patented Rapid Trait Development System (RTDS), strengthens the sheath containing the seeds, thereby reducing pod shatter losses. The trait has been validated in field trials over several years (see AgbioNews, Nov 7, 2019) and the company is now preparing to commercialise the trait in the USA and Canada. Cibus intends to use this patent to develop other productivity traits using the same method, such as traits for fungal resistance and nitrogen use efficiency.