Optimum® GLY
A New Era of Weed Control for Western Canadian Canola
For canola growers across the Prairies, weed management has always been a balancing act — control the right weeds at the right time, without sacrificing yield. Corteva Agriscience’s Optimum® GLY trait, which made its full commercial debut for the 2023 growing season, is one of the newest and most advanced herbicide-tolerant trait technologies on the market in Western Canada. It builds on more than 15 years of research and global registration work, and it’s already changing how farmers approach in-crop weed control.
What the trait does
Optimum GLY is a glyphosate-tolerant trait that deactivates glyphosate inside the canola plant. That biology unlocks two practical advantages over earlier glyphosate-tolerant systems.
First, higher rates: growers can apply up to 2 L/ac REL (Relative Equivalent Litre) of glyphosate per season — significantly more than legacy Roundup Ready canola allows.
Second, a wider application window: sprays can go on from cotyledon through to first flower without compromising yield potential.
The combination delivers stronger broad-spectrum control of annual and perennial weeds — including some of the toughest in canola fields, like cleavers, foxtail barley, and dandelion.
What products are available
Optimum GLY is offered to Western Canadian growers for the 2026 season through Brevant® seeds. The Brevant lineup alone includes a growing list of hybrids — B3018N, B3019, B3020, B4021, and B4970N, the first Brevant Nexera® hybrid to combine the Optimum GLY trait with pod-shatter resistance and strong disease protection.
Helping in the fight against herbicide resistance
Herbicide resistance in Western Canada is a growing concern among farmers and will play a deeper and deeper roll in future product decision making. Optimum GLY won’t solve resistance on its own, but it gives growers a more flexible and effective in-crop tool. The wider application window means weeds can be hit at the most vulnerable stage rather than after they’ve outgrown the label. Higher allowable rates improve control on tougher escapes that would otherwise survive, set seed, and add to the resistance gene pool.
Used as part of an integrated program — rotating modes of action, tank-mixing where appropriate, layering residual herbicides, and combining with cultural practices like crop rotation and competitive seeding — Optimum GLY adds another well-stewarded option to a grower’s toolbox. It’s a meaningful step forward for canola weed management on the Prairies