Investing in research that makes sense for farmers
Click the icons below or type a keyword in the search bar to view Alberta Grains funded research.
Click the icons below or type a keyword in the search bar to view Alberta Grains funded research.
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Although winter wheat has been grown for many years, for most western Canadian producers it is still perceived as a new and alternative crop. Producers, ag-industry and society recognize that there is a need to develop a…
Fusarium head blight and leaf diseases have become a serious threat to Alberta wheat growers. To manage leaf disease, some growers apply a sub-lethal rate of fungicide tank-mixed with herbicide at early growth stages. Gr…
This project will use systems thinking to identify synergies between advanced agronomic practices to maximize the profitability of Alberta growers. Using a systems approach, approximately 50 different management systems …
Hail damage crop losses vary depending on intensity, timing and spatial extent in terms of growth stages of the affected crops. This 3 year research project proposes to identify wheat’s response to simulated hail damag…
This 3 year project proposes to further develop the use of the plant growth regulator class, auxins, as a tool to increase wheat grain yield grown under non-stress and abiotic stress conditions. By determining the traits…
This research is examining the dependence of key physical and biochemical factors underlying CWRS wheat processing quality for breadmaking as a function of genotype (G), the crop growing environment (E) and G x E interac…
As spring wheat growers strive for higher yields through intensified practices and new genetics, the knowledge gap around nitrogen (N) remains far from closed. One question that arises is the role of enhanced efficiency …
Wireworms are a soil-dwelling pest that attacks wheat seeds and seedlings. The pest has re-emerged as a problem across Canada in wheat and other crops such as potato. This project will contribute to the integrated pest m…
Nitrogen (N) is an essential plant nutrient and, along with water, is the factor that most frequently limits crop production. In recent years, however, soil N tests have come under considerable scrutiny and criticism, le…
Stomata are small openings found on plant surfaces that mediate gas exchange with the surrounding atmosphere. This structure is important for photosynthesis and water use efficiency as they control the amount of CO2 inta…
Moisture deficits recognized as agricultural drought and those of dispersed nature that get less “press”, if any, bring down wheat yield. Grain filling period is particularly sensitive. Statistics Canada noted after …
This 3 year project aims to quantifying the effects of long term Nitrogen and Sulfur fertilizers on crop nutrient use efficiency and N2O emissions on sulfur-deficient, grey soils. Sulfur-deficient prairie soils may be in…
This investigation will determine if early plantings of cold-tolerant cultivars coupled with optimum agronomics will extend the growing season and achieve or exceed attainable spring wheat yield with improved system stab…
This 4 year project proposes to increase grain yield by manipulating the cellular carbon flux to improve productivity in wheat varieties. By using genome editing technology, the primary regulatory enzyme (mitochondrial p…
This 3 year research project aims to monitor incidence and severity of stripe rust in Alberta through annual surveys, determining the virulence of prevalent wheat races, and identification and characterizing new sources …
Increasing cereal competitiveness is an important priority to the grains and livestock sector of Alberta. New high yielding wheat lines can be developed specifically for various growing regions (north, central, and south…
Several management and cultural practices, host plant resistance, chemical and biological control measures have been suggested to control Fusarium head blight (FHB). However, genetic resistance is considered to be the mo…
Fusarium head blight (FHB), also known as ‘scab’, is a devastating disease of cereal crops caused by a necrotrophic fungus, Fusarium graminearum and related species. The fungus produces trichothecene toxins (includin…
A simple, paper based mycotoxin testing platform was created previously to detect mycotoxins that may contaminate major food crops. This 3 year research proposal aims to upgrade the platform for use in farms, grain eleva…
Understanding the basis of early maturity in wheat may lessen the use of herbicides through improved competition with weeds, and may also improve the quality of harvested wheat. This research will use techniques of both …
Understanding the basis of early maturity in wheat may lessen the use of herbicides through improved competition with weeds, and may also improve the quality of harvested wheat. This research will use techniques of both …
This 3 year project will identify which varieties of wheat, oat, and barley are affected by Plant Growth Regulators (PGRs), and whether PGRs are useful applications for lodging resistance. Timing for PGR application will…
This project will develop winter wheat varieties for Alberta and all of western Canada with CWRS-like quality characteristics while increasing/maintaining yield, winter survival and disease resistance. The goal is to red…
This proposal provides stable funding to the high yield spring wheat breeding program at the UofA, supporting the long-term objectives of developing cultivars with high yield, early maturity and disease resistance. This …
The use of sourdough in industrial baking reduces ingredient cost, achieves “clean label” solutions by replacement of additives, and the quality of bread. Fermentations are carried out at the bakery or by specialized…
Over the last decade an increasing portion of the Canada Western Red Spring (CWRS) wheat cultivars released have carried height-reducing genes (Rht) while the majority of Canada Prairie Spring (CPS) cultivars have been s…
High-nitrogen (N) fertilizer increases yield. It also increases production costs to wheat growers, and excess N fertilizer causes environmental and health risks. The proposed study furthers our previous work to examine t…
Winter durum wheat has the potential to be a high value, high yielding cereal crop for Alberta farmers. The research objective of this project is to evaluate existing winter durum lines and develop new winter durum popul…
This project supports continued research and development activities of the Canadian Western Hard Red Spring (CWRS) wheat breeding program at the University of Alberta. We have released 11 CWRS cultivars and educated many…
Plant diseases are responsible for at least 10% of yield losses in global food production. Incidence and severity of two important cereal crop diseases, Fusarium head blight (FHB) and tan spot, are increasing with the im…
While the short-term benefits of ultra-early seeding are straight-forward – improved labour distribution during seeding, increased yield potential, integrated weed management benefits, perhaps the mid to long term impl…
Production of winter wheat on the Canadian Prairies is perceived risky as current cultivars have insufficient low temperature tolerance to guarantee consistent winter survival. Breeding for higher cold hardiness in winte…
This project will Determine and revise estimates of the nutrient uptake and removal of crops commonly grown in western Canada and develop a user friendly online and mobile app for determining nutrient uptake and removal …
This project will determine nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) capabilities for a range of historic and modern spring wheat cultivar and identify agronomic traits that contribute to enhancing NUE of spring wheat.
This proposed research project aims to generate and deploy novel genomic tools for breeding of future generation of Canadian wheat and barley cultivars that are tolerant to PHS.
The yields of new feed barley cultivars have declined or at best remained static compared to varieties registered 15 years ago in according to data from AFSC. Barley acreage are also declining by an average of 3% per ye…
This project will address the decline in planted barley acres in AB that is resulting in reduced crop diversity and threatening the cropping system sustainability in the province.
The number of unique herbicide resistant weed / site of action combinations continue to increase in western Canada and around the world. The lack of new herbicides with a unique mechanism of action is leading to the dev…
The purpose of this project is to enhance our feed and forage barley and triticale breeding programs by optimizing the application of the most recent molecular techniques.
Evaluation of DON content in 2,250 CDC breeding lines grown in the collaborative AAFC Brandon FHB nursery located in Brandon, MB and 150 CDC lines grown in collaborative FHB nurseries located in Morden, MB, Ottawa, ON an…
Genetic markers have allowed breeders to more rapidly develop new and improved varieties. However, there is potential to increase the efficiency of this technology even more while also decreasing the cost associated with…
Barley holds great value for the feed industry but it is still not the first choice for many livestock producers. This research aims to increase the competitiveness of barley for swine diets by substantiating how and why…
Demand for Canada’s high-quality malt and feed barley is increasing. To prepare for and nurture this growth, it is critical that we continue to develop barley varieties with improved traits.
Barley production across Canada continues to be threatened by diseases. This research aims to address this by developing disease-resistant barley varieties.
Controlled traffic farming (CTF) is a system that separates the area that machinery travels on from the area where the crop grows, establishing permanent traffic lanes. In this farmer-led initiative, farmers are evaluati…
In order to increase the growth of barley in western Canada, it is critical to continue to develop varieties that are adapted to our growing conditions and offer ideal end-use qualities.
In order for barley to stay competitive, it is crucial to continually develop new varieties that will increase yields while also addressing disease threats and changing environmental, economic and market conditions.
Barley production across Canada continues to be threatened by diseases, and the increasing resistance and adaptation of these diseases to fungicides.
Increasing demand for greater cereal crop yield often motivates increasing the use of nitrogen-based fertilizers, leading to growing conditions with lower input use-efficiencies. Commercial agricultural products availabl…
The project aims to determine if applying herbicides at night is a practical option for farmers; to generate unbiased data on the efficacy of and tolerance of night application of herbicides, and to uncover possible issu…
The project aims to identify superior crop rotations that minimize input costs, environmental impacts and pest problems, optimize crop production, increase profit and improve soil quality. Canola, wheat, peas, barley and…
The project aims to assess seeding systems by soil-test-based fertilizer rate interactions for canola and cereal production. Combinations of two seeding systems and four fertilizer rates are being tested using a barley-c…
Kochia populations from more than 50 sites in Alberta and Saskatchewan have been confirmed to be glyphosate-resistant. This research will provide new information on the most efficacious and cost-effective alternative her…
The project aims to develop barley varieties with a superior ability to take up and utilize nitrogen, so that the rate of nitrogen fertilization can be reduced while continuing to improve grain yield.
The project aims to evaluate the EM38 and VERIS soil mapping tools, management zone delineation techniques and agronomy options. It will provide scientific data regarding precision agriculture tools and simple protocols …
The project aims to develop strategies to utilize third-generation silage inoculants during forage preservation in order to enhance the feeding value and utilization of forages in cow-calf and beef cattle operations.
In the marketplace, feed barley for pigs is undervalued compared to feed wheat. Barley can contain unique properties related to the fermentation of starch and fibre that may have important implications for gut health.
Barley is a major grain in the beef cattle diet in Alberta, but not in Japan. This project aims to investigate the effects of replacing 25 per cent of the corn in the Japanese beef cattle diet with Canadian barley in ter…
Approximately 1 million acres of cereal forage is grown in Alberta annually. Small grain forages are assumed to be among the least expensive feedstuffs for ruminants. Forage varieties are still chosen on the basis of vis…
The project aims to develop a comprehensive guide for the barley feed industry that can be used by livestock producers, the feed industry and extension specialists.
The project will explore crop management systems—analyzing factors such as in-crop nitrogen fertilizer, foliar fungicides and plant growth regulators—to maximize the profitability of Alberta growers.
Progress has been made towards the completion of a meta-analysis of the relationship between barley consumption and glycemic response. A comprehensive literature search has been completed and a systematic selection of qu…
The project will identify molecular markers associated with important agronomic traits that will help breeders improve these traits via molecular marker-assisted selection or genomic selection strategies.
The objectives of this project are to evaluate and map several barley scald resistance genes and to create molecular markers for effective scald resistance genes for use in genetic selection.
Modern agriculture’s reliance on uniform cultivars, monocultures and rotations with limited diversity hinders efforts to manage pest issues, such as diseases. The lack of genetic diversity in modern cultivars is also f…
The project aims to 1) determine the impact of seed treatments, PGRs and fungicide timing on crop health, disease levels, productivity and quality in barley; 2) assess the interaction of disease resistance with seed trea…
The project aims to develop six-row forage/feed barley cultivars for Western Canada, with improved disease resistance and agronomic performance with enhanced quality traits, in order to meet farmers’ needs and to contr…
We plan to develop in vitro or lab-based phenotyping methods that accurately characterize disease resistance mechanisms and that can be used for quick disease resistance selection within a breeding program.
The project aims to 1) determine and contrast the effects of monocultures, mixtures, intercropping and rotational diversity on crop health, disease levels, productivity and quality in a cereal silage production system; 2…
The project aims to develop two-row covered feed barley varieties for Western Canada, with improved disease resistance and agronomic performance combined with enhanced quality traits, in order to expand market opportunit…
The project aims to develop two-row hulless food barley cultivars for Western Canada, with improved disease resistance and agronomic performance with enhanced quality traits, in order to meet the needs of farmers and the…
The project will produce hulless barley varieties with improved agronomic performance (e.g., yield, disease resistance, lodging resistance) and quality attributes to take advantage of potential novel markets in the malti…
The project will provide important information on the best seeding-rate and nitrogen-rate combinations to optimize beta-glucan levels in Hulless barley varieties, and thus enhance the health value and market feasibility …
The primary objective of this project was to develop barley varieties with enhanced nitrogen use efficiency (NUE). The development of barley varieties with enhanced NUE presents the opportunity to lower input costs for f…
This activity supports the improvement of wholegrain barley products with regards to microbial safety as well as desirable physicochemical properties and end-use quality.
The project aims to develop two-row malting barley varieties for Western Canada, with improved disease resistance and agronomic performance combined with enhanced quality traits, in order to expand market opportunities a…
The project aims to develop six-row malting barley cultivars for Western Canada, with improved disease resistance and agronomic performance combined with enhanced quality traits, in order to expand market opportunities a…
The project will produce malt and feed barley varieties with improved agronomic performance (e.g., yield, disease resistance, lodging resistance, lower grain protein) and quality attributes for both the malting and brewi…
The project aims to improve malting barley production in Eastern Canada through identification of improved malting barley cultivars. Barley breeders with the University of Saskatchewan and Alberta Agriculture, and in Aus…
The objectives of this project are to discover genetic markers and techniques for identifying malting barley varieties.
The objectives of this study are to increase the effectiveness of selection of two-row hulled malting varieties and to develop quality selection criteria for hulless malting lines within the Lacombe Field Crop Developmen…
The project aims to assess the feasibility of, and risks associated with, using a pre-harvest glyphosate application as a dry-down on malting barley. Preliminary results indicate that pre-harvest glyphosate, when applied…
Plant growth regulators (PGR) can be a very cost-effective method of reducing the incidence of lodging, which can cause barley yield losses of up to 80 per cent. However, little research has been conducted in Western Can…
This project will provide information on which barley varieties respond best to nitrogen both in terms of nitrogen-use efficiency and effect on end quality of malting and feed barley.
The project aims to generate DNA sequence data and microbial species information in order to address knowledge gaps that currently exist regarding diversity, composition and fate of microbial communities during different…
The project aims to develop barley germplasm for western Canada in all classes of barley with improved fusarium head blight (FHB) resistance.
The project aims to identify barley germplasm, breeding lines and varieties with resistance to a range of foliar, root and head diseases.
Many farmers look to the popular yet ambiguous area of "soil health" to help buffer perturbations to their farming operations and provide long-term productivity. However, there is little information on how farmers …
This research will assess whether there may be an opportunity to extend the crop harvest beyond the grain to include some portion of the crop residues, without appreciably impairing soil health.
Lodging is a serious production and management constraint for barley growers that can have significant impacts on yield. While breeding for standability (or resistance to lodging) is a primary goal of barley breeding pro…
Research is Alberta Grains' most significant investment for a reason. Development of new, improved genetics and best management practices will be key to helping producers adapt to changing environments, government policies and both domestic and international market demands, all while maximizing their profit.