Eastern Canadian company Maizex Seeds announced earlier this year that they were stepping into Western Canada’s canola market with two new hybrids this fall, and Manitoba farmers now have the first independent look at how they perform.
The company entered one TruFlex Roundup Ready hybrid and one LibertyLink hybrid into the 2025 Canola Variety Evaluation Trials (CVET), which offer side-by-side comparisons under consistent management. Eight Manitoba sites were harvested this year after one location was lost to early-season weed pressure, giving a useful first snapshot of how these brand new entries stack up against established Prairie genetics.
According to Stephen Denys, the company’s director of market and product development, this is actually the second year Maizex has participated in these trials, though it marks the first year the company has products available for commercial sales.
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“For Manitoba farmers that are considering Maizex canola, our message is that we are launching high performance products to the market that are performing well on the farm in our commercial trial sites,” Denys said. “We believe we are providing a new high-quality alternative for farmers to consider for the 2026 season.”
WHY IT MATTERS: With fresh CVET data in hand, Manitoba growers now have their first unbiased look at Maizex’s new canola hybrids, revealing one steady performer and one that may need more Prairie testing.
Expanding west
Maizex is a Canadian, farmer-owned seed brand that’s been known primarily for corn, soybeans and other eastern crops, based in southern Ontario. Its move into Prairie canola is part of a broader push to give growers more domestic seed options.
The TruFlex hybrid, sold as MC 5230TF, is designed as a broadly adapted variety with basic clubroot protection and the usual disease package, while the unnamed LibertyLink hybrid is positioned as the stronger clubroot option for areas where that disease is already established.
The company has said it is developing more Western-focused hybrids, but these two represent its starting lineup as it enters a highly competitive canola market.
TruFlex entry holds its ground
In the TruFlex trial, MC 5230TF landed squarely in the middle of the group. It did not top the tables, but it did not lag either, and at several of the sites its yield was statistically similar to the check, based on the least significant difference values in the CVET data.
Its blackleg and clubroot resistance ratings and pod-shatter score were in line with the system’s commercial norms. What stood out most was its steadiness across very different growing conditions, from the sandy soil at Carman to the heavy clay at Arborg. For a first-year western entry, that consistency may catch the attention of growers who like to trial new genetics on a few acres before making a bigger commitment.
“For the TruFlex hybrids, our performance shows close to but below what we are seeing in commercial trials,” Denys said.
“It is unfortunate that there are not more commercial hybrids in these trials to show to a broader degree the performance we are seeing.”
Yield gap emerges in LibertyLink trials
The LibertyLink hybrid had a tougher first season. In the combined Manitoba results, it finished near the bottom of the LibertyLink entries and, in multiple locations, the gap between its yield and the check exceeded the LSD, meaning the lower performance was statistically meaningful rather than random variation.
Its disease-resistance package and pod-shatter tolerance were competitive with others in the category, so the weaker performance likely reflects how difficult it is for a brand new hybrid to compete in a herbicide system with long-established favourites.
One season of data does not determine a hybrid’s future, but the first-year numbers suggest that this entry may need additional refinement or more years of Prairie testing before it can stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the leaders in its class.
Maizex sees those results differently.
“For the Liberty Link hybrids, when we break down the site locations, at most locations we have a very positive story to tell with strong performance, echoing what we are seeing in commercial trials across the Prairies,” Denys said.
“At a couple of the locations the performance brings down the overall average and we believe plot quality concerns contribute to this yield drag.”
Disease tolerance is becoming increasingly important to growers, Denys said.
“We understand that the majority of the market in Manitoba is LibertyLink based, with our LibertyLink offering competitive yield and an excellent disease package including a wide range of clubroot pathotypes,” Denys said. “For many farmers, disease tolerance is becoming a key decision factor in canola hybrid selection.”
Challenging season for all hybrids
This year’s CVET results also came with some notable production hurdles. Seven of the eight Manitoba locations reported high verticillium pressure, with only Morris showing low levels.
Weather variability added to the challenge: Arborg received only 47 per cent of normal precipitation and saw several plots deactivated due to poor emergence, while other sites recorded seasonal totals well above 250 millimetres.
All hybrids in the program faced the same conditions, so the results offer a fair comparison, but the overall stress of the season provides important context for how first-year entries performed.
“Like any independent trials or in any other crop, it is important for farmers to review multiple sources of data as they make their variety decisions,” Denys said.
“For farmers who position and succeed with Truflex hybrids, we believe this is a best-in-class option to consider including excellent straight cut attributes.”
