Fusarium head blight (FHB) is a fungal disease affecting cereal crops in Canada that reduces productivity and produces mycotoxins in the grain. This fungal disease is caused by a number of Fusarium species. In Canada, Fusarium graminearum is considered as the most important Fusarium species because of its abundance, its toxin producing ability and its impact on grain quality and yield.
Read MoreThe objective of this project is to determine the evolution or spread of glyphosate-resistant (GR) or auxinic-resistant kochia in Manitoba in 2018, Saskatchewan in 2019, and Alberta in 2021 since the 2012/2013 baseline surveys. In the 2012/2013 surveys, GR kochia was found in 5% of randomly-surveyed sites in Alberta and Saskatchewan (annually-cropped fields and non-crop areas such as oil well sites, railway rights-of-way, and roadside ditches), but only two sites in Manitoba.
Read MoreThe proposed strategy in this project is to apply genomic selection as early as possible within the breeding programs that is cost effective based on the current cost of genotyping and number of lines under consideration. Our strategy to continue to apply genomic selection at the F4 generation is based on a pilot study discussed more in the next section of this application ‘how does this project build on your previous research or research of others’. By applying genomic selection at an early generation the gene pool of breeding populations will be enriched for desirable alleles in the same way that phenotypic selection is done for agronomic and disease traits such as height and rust resistance.
Read MoreSurveys for wheat midge have been conducted in Saskatchewan since the late 1980’s. The survey was expanded with the gradual increase in distribution of the wheat midge in the Province. Currently the survey covers most of the wheat growing areas of the Province. The wheat midge survey consists of soil sampling (approximately 420 to 450 sites during September and October) followed by processing and analysis to be completed by the end of December. The data from the survey is used to create a forecast map of risk to wheat midge for the following growing season.
Read MoreThe Saskatchewan Variety Performance Group (SVPG) is an informal group made up of stakeholders who are interested in variety performance testing in Saskatchewan. SVPG has coordinated the post-registration regional performance testing of spring wheat, durum, barley, oats and flax varieties since 2006. The data collected from these trials is entered into annual publications Varieties of Grain Crops and SaskSeed Guide. These publications are valuable resources for producers and seed growers who are looking for unbiased comparisons of variety data.
Read MoreThe Saskatchewan Variety Performance Group (SVPG) is an informal group made up of stakeholders who are interested in variety performance testing in Saskatchewan. SVPG has coordinated the post-registration regional performance testing of spring wheat, durum, barley, oats and flax varieties since 2006. The data collected from these trials is entered into annual publications Varieties of Grain Crops and SaskSeed Guide. These publications are valuable resources for producers and seed growers who are looking for unbiased comparisons of variety data.
Read MoreInsects are important components of ecosystems and affect ecosystem health and agricultural productivity. Insects can be both positive, such as pollinators and natural enemies, or negative in the form of pests. Historically, pests have been managed responsively through the use of pesticides. However, there is an increasing desire for alternative methods with less environmental impact and that are safer for beneficial insects. This desire can be seen, for instance, in the WGRF Field Heroes program. Further, as the crops grown in western Canada diversify, it becomes necessary to evaluate potential pests and to determine the risk and threats from different insect species.
Read MoreThis research will renew the FHB screening provided by the WGRF core agreement and add back capacity that was in Growing Forward 2. It will also sustain the additional resources for durum wheat which was supported through the bridge funding provided by the AWC, SWDC, and MCA. By providing phenotypic FHB data to breeders and geneticists, this project will support the continued efforts toward incorporating and combining better sources of genetic resistance into Canadian wheat cultivars. This will benefit the entire wheat value chain and ensure that Canadian wheat continues to be competitive on world markets.
Read MoreShort crop rotations provide an environment conducive for an increase in plant disease, weed pressure from herbicide resistance, and insect damage (these productivity decreasing factors will be referred to as “pests” in this document). While some short rotations are currently profitable, the lack of diversification in a cropping system can be detrimental to maintaining crop yield and profitability. Factors that contribute to the profitability of cropping systems will identify why the seeded area of some crops is declining while increasing for others.
Read MoreThe University of Alberta wheat breeding program has registered and commercialized 13 CWRS varieties and one CPS variety since 2013. Sixteen MSc. students (13 graduated); 17 PhD students (14 graduated); 6 Post-Doctoral Fellows; and 3 Visiting Scientists have been involved with the program since 2002. These graduates are working as scientists, biologists, researchers and professors in Alberta, western Canada and globally. The program has published over 130 refereed scientific articles in that time as well.
Read MoreThere is a large amount of economic literature that examines return to investments in public agricultural research in breeding. The predominance of evidence suggests the rate to return to public agricultural research is persistently high across a large number of agricultural subsectors, jurisdictions, and time periods. In Western Canada, there are several studies, including those we have been involved with, that show very high internal rates of return of investments in agricultural applied research and breeding. These returns are easily verified with simple calculations looking at the gross annual research benefit and weighted average increases over time.
Read MoreThis research will assess if there may be an opportunity to extend the crop harvest beyond the grain to include some portion of the crop residues, without appreciably impairing soil health. Most field studies to investigate the effects of crop residue exports on agroecosystem performance and soil status run for fewer than 10, and often for only 3 yrs. Such short time spans often are too small to appreciably alter C or nitrogen (N) cycling. This project will take advantage of a simple residue manipulation experiment that has been maintained for 20 years at AAFC Lethbridge.
Read MoreWe aim to address the wireworm problem in wheat by developing RNAi as a tool for wireworm suppression. RNAi has the potential to be powerful, targeted, and environmentally friendly and has been shown to have efficacy against over 20 insect crop pests. We will approach our RNAi goal for wireworm control from two angles. First is to develop a seed treatment where double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) will be used to target specific wireworm genes for down-regulation and then create Canola plants expressing RNAi targeted to specific wireworm genes and to use these plants as a "clean up" rotation crop.
Read MoreGrowers should be provided with tools to make informed decisions and select appropriate drying strategies to minimize spoilage risk, ensure timely and uniform drying with optimum quality, and high energy efficiency. In-bin natural air drying, high temperature drying and combination drying will be investigated. The purpose is to develop wheat storage and handling guidelines for Alberta climatic conditions for increased energy efficiency, timely and uniform drying and optimum milling and baking quality of dried wheat. These storage and handling guidelines will be also useful in postharvest preservation of other major cereal grains, oil seeds and pulses.
Read MoreWe will utilize our Pst collection to generate pools of molecular markers for the Pst in Canada to be applied as a fast approach to predict pathogen changes/incursions. In parallel (lead by Dr. Ragupathy), resistance associated markers from Canadian wheat panel of 250 spring wheat and Triticum accessions that has been already genotyped by Dr. Cloutier (AAFC Ottawa, a collaborator) and ~200 winter durum wheat panel available in Dr. Ragupathy’s lab will be also utilized. The project is expected to generate useful tool to track rust changes in Canada, and identify resistance in already genotyped elite lines.
Read MoreWe aim to integrate long-term data on management, soils, crops, and weather to provide a holistic view of how changes in management impact soils over time, and how these changes in "soil health" could buffer the cropping system and alleviate the impact of future perturbations. Our research questions include: (1) Do farming practices deemed to "invest in soil health" pay off over short- and long-term timescales in the semi-arid Canadian prairies? (2) If so, how can farmers invest in soil health while maintaining profitability and stability under a changing climate?
Read MoreThe objective of implementing a threshold for weed seed production is to reduce the spread of herbicide-resistant weed biotypes. Understanding the timing of weed life cycle events (phenology) can improve the efficiency of weed control passes by informing growers of the optimal timing for weed control efforts. This research project aims to improve our understanding of weed phenology in western Canada, and in particular the phenology of weed seed production; an area of research which has been largely ignored.
Read MoreBreeding for biotic stress like stripe rust is an on-going challenge due to the continuous emergence of newly adapted races. The proposed research aims to translate the research findings of a recently concluded upstream research project where novel genetic sources of resistance against pathogens including stripe rust have been identified using the novel RenSeq method, in a diversity panel of intermediate wheatgrass accessions.
Read MoreThis project aims to develop a decision support tool to aid producers in determining what products would constitute MEMOA for target weeds in their field. In addition a second tool would be developed to help identify the potential risk of herbicide resistance evolving based on a four year crop rotation and the resulting herbicide choices. A tool of this type has been created for Wyoming and Nebraska.
Read MoreThe overall goal of the proposed research is to optimize arbuscular mycorrhizae inoculation potential and subsequent nitrogen use efficiency in cereal crops. This research will provide valuable agronomic knowledge that will enable producers to be more efficient in the application of nitrogen fertilizers and validate the efficacy of AMF inoculation in conjunction with common pesticides used in Canadian cereal crops.
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