Agronomy, Genetics and Breeding of Wheat for Organic Environments

随着人们对环境管理的关注，以及化学品投入的生态和经济成本超过社会门槛，有机农业实践可能在加拿大西部变得越来越重要，就像在欧洲大部分地区一样。在加拿大，特别是在加拿大大草原的黑土地带，很少有关于有机条件下春小麦生产的长期研究。拟议的研究是一个开创性的长期NSERC发现资助项目的延续，该项目与小麦有机生产育种和农艺策略的发展有关。

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.