U of M Core Breeding Agreement
Term: 5 years, beginning in 2021
Status: Ongoing
Funding Amount: $1,223,452
Lead Researcher(s): Dr. Curt McCartney (University of Manitoba)
Funding Partners: Alberta Wheat Commission, Manitoba Crop Alliance, Saskatchewan Winter Cereals Development Commission, Western Grain Research Foundation
Project Description
Winter wheat has the highest yield potential of all wheat types grown in western Canada. Data from Seed Manitoba (2020) indicated that the top four highest yielding Canada Western Red Winter (CWRW) varieties had a 17% yield advantage over the top five Canada Western Red Spring (CWRS) varieties, a 14% yield advantage over the top eight Canada Prairie Spring Red (CPSR) varieties, and a 6% yield advantage over the top three Canada Northern Hard Red (CNHR) varieties. Over the past 5 years, there were 184,000 acres of CWRW wheat insured annually (Canadian Grain Commission), with most acres in Alberta and Manitoba. With climate change, winter wheat may become more competitive against other wheat classes. Winters are expected to get milder, which should result in improved winter survival. Climate change is also expected to alter precipitation patterns but the exact direction of the changes is unknown. Continued development of new varieties in spring and winter wheat types is a logical insurance plan to address uncertainties resulting from climate change. Winter wheat may be preferred if summer drought or heat stress becomes significant production concerns. Presently, winter wheat is a viable alternative to spring wheats and provides significant rotational and environmental benefits. CWRW is the principle winter wheat class grown on the prairies for milling and baking purposes. It has an excellent reputation for high flour extraction rates with low ash content and bright white colour and can be used in a broad range of products such as hearth breads, noodles, flat breads and steamed breads. Over the past 10 years, the University of Manitoba winter wheat breeding program has focused on the development of wheats targeting the Canada Western Special Purpose (CWSP) class for the feed and ethanol industry. In order to continue to make progress in breeding for FHB resistance and build on the momentum that has been generated, it is critical to continue to provide capacity for FHB phenotyping. This 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 and facilitate the development of tools that may revolutionize future FHB breeding advances. This will benefit the entire wheat value chain and ensure that Canadian wheat continues to be competitive on world markets.