Agronomy, Genetics and Breeding of Wheat for Organic Environments

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As concern for environmental stewardship rises, and the ecological and monetary expense of chemical inputs rises beyond societal thresholds, organic agricultural practices may become more and more important in western Canada, as they have in much of Europe. There have been few long-term studies on spring wheat production under organic conditions in Canada, and especially in the black soil zone of the Canadian Prairies. The proposed research is a continuation of a pioneering long-term NSERC Discovery Grant supported program related to the development of breeding and agronomic strategies for the organic production of wheat.  Long-term objectives: This is a long-term study designed to extend the level of scientific information on 1) the genetic basis of breeding for soil nutrient deficiencies and weed competitive ability, 2) environmentally sustainable wheat agronomy and breeding for organic environments, and 3) understanding the physiological mechanisms of competitive ability. The short-term objectives of the present 5-year project are to a) Screen purposely chosen association and bi-parental wheat mapping populations for traits underlying competitive ability and yield in low input (organic) and conventional environments, and determine heritabilities, potential QTL and breeding potential of traits uncovered. Such studies require a minimum of three year, two site, large scale field trials to gather phenotypic information on all manner of agronomic, disease and quality traits in addition to extensive genotypic data collection and further statistical analyses; b) Continue refining a wheat ideotype for organic environments through field experimentation; 3) Conduct a meta-analysis of our group's historical data pairing spring wheat cultivars in conventional and organic trials to uncover evidence pointing to traits conferring advantage in organic/low-input conditions.  All experimental strategies will explore the potential of developing systems that serve to minimize energy inputs while maintaining the long-term energy balance of the agro-ecosystem.