Pre-breeding and development of breeding tools to diversify disease resistance in bread wheat

This project is funded through the Canadian National Wheat Cluster.

  • Term:  5 years, ending in 2023

  • Status: Ongoing

  • Funding Amount: $11,391

  • Lead Researcher(s): Dr. Colin Hiebert (Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Morden)

  • Funding Partners: Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Alberta Wheat Commission, Manitoba Wheat and Barley Growers Association, Western Grains Research Foundation,

Project Description

Pre-breeding is an ongoing process that requires continued communication between breeders and geneticists, and this proposed project will build on previous pre-breeding efforts by adding additional leaf and stem rust resistance genes, adding stripe rust resistance as a targeted trait, and using the most recent elite genetic backgrounds as recurrent parents as determined through consultation with breeders. The project will target newly identified ergot resistance genes and introgress them into the most recent elite germplasm. This project will validate, develop, or improve DNA markers for genes targeted in this project using existing populations to enable accurate selection in pre-breeding and to transfer technology to breeding programs.

Variety DevelopmentSask Wheat2018-2019, All Projects