Did you know that the most successful plant-breeding institution in Canada is located right here in Saskatchewan?
Or that, since it was established in 1971 as an applied research unit in the College of Agriculture’s Department of Plant Sciences, the Crop Development Centre (CDC) has developed 226 new crop varieties?
Or that the CDC has achieved this using research land that totals 2,700 acres divided into 141 different fields?
Rick Holm knows. He is the Director of the CDC, and one of the institution’s greatest ambassadors.
“When our researchers embark on a breeding program, they target characteristics they try to improve in a crop — things like quality and agronomic characteristics. Quality, of course, varies with each crop. In the case of red wheat, baking quality and protein content are high on the quality list.”
Similarly, in malting barley, plant breeders will seek to increase enzyme levels, speed of germination and uniformity of kernel size.
In flax, the oil content and the iodine number — the figure that gives an indication of how rapidly the oil will dry — are important, especially the latter if you are making paint, because you want an oil that dries quickly. It is important as a quality consideration.
“For pulse crops,” continues Holm, “quality would mean developing lentils, beans, chickpeas of certain shape, size and colour. This matters when they are destined for human consumption.”
Quality considerations also include developing varieties that don’t bleach or discolour when they are out in the field — this is called bleaching resistance and is important to preserve the grade and value of the product.
“If you grow hard red spring wheat and the harvest is delayed by a month, producers are hoping for varieties that are still red when they are harvested. If you produce green peas, you want them to stay green until the harvest.”
On the other hand, agronomic characteristics are more generic in nature, explains Holm.
“All researchers will seek to develop plants with higher yields. In a parallel way, all plant breeders wish for varieties with early maturity, as Saskatchewan imposes a short growing season on producers. We also want resistance to diseases. This varies from crop to crop because each crop is affected by different diseases, but resistance to the diseases that affect a particular crop is high on the priority list.”
Another agronomic characteristic of significance is the need to develop varieties that stand well, with strong straw that doesn’t to break down when the crop is mature before it is harvested, so the crop can be harvested easily. Shattering resistance is another important factor in increasing harvested yield and minimizing volunteer crop problems in subsequent years.
These are the factors that drive plant breeding activities with sometimes-groundbreaking results, according to Holm.
“Some plant varieties developed at the CDC have set the quality standard for Western Canada — some have become internationally famous. Like Harrington two-row malting barley, which dominated the two-row malting barley class for two decades and is still a popular variety. Laird lentils have achieved a similar status in lentils. These two crop varieties have become stars in the worlds of malting barley and large green lentils.”
Holm adds that the CDC Dolly barley has also become the standard for feed barley in Western Canada.
There is no end in sight to the string of achievements that make the University of Saskatchewan’s Crop Development Centre one of the very bright lights in western Canadian plant breeding endeavours.
Saskatchewan Agriculture and Food is contributing to on-going success at the CDC by providing the funding for six plant breeding positions and an annual operating grant of $1,000,000. This core support helps the CDC attract approximately $3,000,000 annually in additional funding from producers groups and industry to support its plant breeding efforts.
For more information, contact:
Rick Holm, PAgCrop Development Centre
University of Saskatchewan
(306) 966-8195
http://www.usask.ca/agriculture/plantsci/cdc.html
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