Grainswest - Spring 2023

Spring 2023 Grains West 48 Support for student scientists benefits farmers RESEARCH IS AN ESSENTIAL component for the improvement of Canadian barley production. The Alberta Barley Student Schol- arship provides three post-secondary students with $2,000 to support bar- ley-related projects. “We at the commission understand the value of new research in Alberta for barley production, quality and yield,” said Jeremy Boychyn, agronomy research extension manager at the Alberta Wheat and Barley Commissions. “All of those things are important for us to continue to grow this industry and continue to provide value back to the farmers.” Dilini Adihetty was one of the three students selected for the scholarship in 2022. A graduate student in plant pathol- ogy at the University of Alberta, Adihetty studies spot blotch in Prairie barley. She examines the virulence of the disease as well as its resistance and sensitivity to fungicide. Spot blotch is a major problem in barley across the Prairies and can cause significant yield loss when disease con- ditions are favourable. Over the past 10 years, it has increased in prevalence. Nat- urally, barley farmers and agronomists need up-to-date information to adequate- ly manage it. “It’s really important to study this pathogen again,” said Adihetty. She is pleased her research is directly relevant to farmers. “Someone can use this data in the field and I’m effectively pro- ducing something useful. That’s why I love this project.” She hopes to continue in the research field once she has completed her doctorate and is grateful to Alberta Barley for encouraging young scientists with the support of scholarships. A PhD student in microbiology at the University of Manitoba, scholarship re- cipient Anuradha Jayathissa studies three unique aspects of Fusarium species in barley. Most barley farmers are familiar with Fusarium head blight (FHB) and the significant losses it can cause in barley yield and quality. The first aspect of the research examines how the traits of individual Fusarium species nega- tively impact malt quality. The aim is to improve barley grading and malt quality. “It supports the effort to maintain the quality of malting barley produced in Canada,” said Jayathissa. Secondly, Jayathissa examines the interaction of Fusarium species with bac- teria during the malting process. She also investigates the impact of hydrophobin, a protein produced by Fusarium, on the malting process. When Fusarium-infect- ed malt is used in brewing, the protein can cause gushing, the sudden overflow of bottled beer when opened. “Beer gush- Barleyscholarshipsaidresearch HEAD OF THE CLASS ing is one of the main problems in the malting and brewing industry now,” said Jayathissa. She has received additional funding from the American Society of Brewing Chemists for her research on hydrophobins. “We think that differ- ent Fusarium strains produce different hydrophobin structure variants, so it [can affect] the beer gushing potential,” said Jayathissa. By producing malt from infected barley, she studies its potential to cause beer gushing in the lab. Jayathissa believes her work will help solve a range of problems caused by Fusarium. “The benefit of this work will extend to barley growers, maltsters, brewers and also retailers.” Eventually, she would like to put her scientific skills to use as a field research biologist and continue collecting data that contributes to greater knowledge of pathogens such as Fusarium. “The information that we gain from the field can be applied to research with diverse applications like farming,” she said. Scholarship recipient Mackenzie Hladun is finishing her master’s degree in science at the University of Saskatch- ewan. Like Jayathissa, her research is focused on Fusarium, but specifically on resistance to the disease in bread wheat. “FHB is a horrible disease in cereals across the world,” said Hladun. “Some scientific papers have rated it as the second worst disease in the world for ce- real production.” When its spores infect cereal heads, this leads to decreased yield and quality. It also enhances the poten- tial for mycotoxin contamination, which makes grain unusable for feed or food production. While Hladun’s research covers the genetic aspect of FHB resistance in bread wheat, she received the scholarship to “We at the commission understand the value of new research in Alberta for barley production, quality and yield.” —Jeremy Boychyn