AWC, Sask Wheat announce more than $1.6 million in combined research funding

The Alberta Wheat Commission (AWC) and Saskatchewan Wheat Development Commission (Sask Wheat) are pleased to announce combined funding of more than $1.6 million over three years in innovative wheat research aimed at improving wheat production and outcomes for farmers.

The commissions are funding this research through the Ag Funding Consortium (AFC), a partnership of 13 organizations established to create a onewindow approach for agricultural research and development funding in Alberta.

Some of the highlights of these projects include stripe rust surveillance to improve resistance in regional wheat varieties, developing a reliable method of gene editing in wheat that could simplify the breeding process, and improving nitrogen (N) use efficiency in Canadian wheat, among several other cutting-edge topics.

“Investment in wheat research remains our highest priority,” said Kevin Bender, AWC Chair. “Putting check-off dollars into innovation helps ensure farmers continue to have access to the best methods and results possible, ultimately resulting in better returns.”

“These projects have the potential to bring major benefits to farmers across Western Canada,” said Sask Wheat Chair Laura Reiter. “We’re proud to partner with the Alberta Wheat Commission to invest on behalf of farmers in projects which will lead to improved wheat varieties and agronomic practices.”

A full listing of the projects being funded is in the backgrounder below. AWC and Sask Wheat look forward to providing project summaries and updates as they become available. Backgrounder

• Project: An efficient system to identify virulence patterns of stripe rust in Canada

Principal Investigator: Dr. Reem Aboukhaddour (AAFC)

AWC investment: $61,500

Sask Wheat Investment: $67,650.

• Project: A comparative genomics approach to improve doubled haploid Breeding for common and durum wheat Principal Investigator: Dr. John Laurie AWC investment: $150,000

Sask Wheat Investment: $66,000.

• Project: Precision breeding in wheat mediated by engineered haploid inducers Principal Investigator: Dr. John Laurie AWC Investment: $100,000

Sask Wheat Investment: $110,000.

• Project: Genetics and improvement of earliness in Canadian spring wheat Principal Investigator: Dr. Dean Spaner AWC Investment: $200,000

Sask Wheat Investment: $150,000.

• Project: Breeding spring wheat for improved nitrogen use efficiency and associated traits

Principal Investigator: Dr. Dean Spaner AWC Investment: $200,000.

• Project: Revisiting the value of early fungicide applications in wheat

Principal Investigator: Dr. Sheri Strydhorst

AWC Investment: $48,770

Sask Wheat Investment: $112,171.

• Project: Nitrogen fixation in triticale and wheat

Principal Investigator: Dr. Alicja Ziemienowicz

AWC Investment: $120,000

Sask Wheat Investment: $260,000.