Expanding Albertan capacity for hard red spring wheat breeding, and the education of future scientists
To develop new CWRS cultivars with improved maturity, disease resistance, quality, and agronomic adaptability for Alberta and western Canada and to educate graduate students in the field of plant breeding and agronomy.
The overall objectives of this research was to develop new Hard Red spring wheat cultivars selected for growth in Alberta, and to educate graduate and post-graduate students in this field for the Alberta Industry.
Over this five-year project (2014 – 2019) we registered and released 8 CWRS wheat cultivars and graduated 5 MSc and 5 PhD students into the workforce. The CWRS wheat cultivars (the marketing company) are: 1. Parata (Secan) 2. Zealand (Lefsrud Seeds) 3. Tracker (Canterra) 4. RedNet (SeedNet) 5. Ellerslie (Secan) 6. Jake (Canterra) 7. Sheba (Penwest Seeds) 8. PT786. Our wheat research group (mainly the MSc and PhD students) published 29 refereed scientific papers, 1 book chapter and 1 book over the duration of this project.