Staying ahead of ever evolving cereal pathogens: management by early detection, host resistance, and microbiome exploitation

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Wheat and barley are two of the three most important field crops in Canada. Foliar leaf pathogens jeopardize global food security by affecting yield and quality of the produce. There are >50,000 wheat and barley growers in western Canada generating ~$7.5 billion is generated annually from the sale of the two crops to other countries. Insect-pests and diseases are significant production problems: an estimated 18% of potential wheat yield in Canada and Midwestern USA is lost to diseases and insect-pests. This project will focus on the diseases stripe rust and tan spot of wheat, which alone are responsible for 5% of that 18% yield loss. Through our proposed research, we aim to significantly reduce such economic disease-caused loss by developing strategies for disease management that are not only environmentally-friendly but also economical and sustainable. In this NSERC-Alliance project, we will use modern, cutting-edge portable genome sequencers and exploit microbiome-based disease management for tan spot and stripe rust of wheat and net blotch of barley, none of which have previously been used in the context of Canadian crop pathology and disease management. This project will be the first in Canada to bring about change by introducing protocols for rapid pathogen identification and genetic pathogen population characterization, identifying the new sources of resistance to wheat tan spot and stripe rust from global genebank collection, and identification of disease suppressive soils (soils rich in microbiomes produce natural anti-fungal compounds) for cereal production for use in disease management. By generating more resistant variety options, novel biological control methods, and minimizing fungicide application, this project will have massive long-term impacts on wheat and barley production, the Canadian economy, and the environment. The proposed research innovates and complements existing efforts by our partner organizations on management of these priority wheat and barley diseases.