23 / 48
GrainsWest:
How did you get started in wheat breeding?
Dr. Harpinder Randhawa:
I grew up on a farm in India and
did my bachelor of science in agriculture and master’s in plant
breeding [at Punjab Agricultural University], and worked as a rice
breeder for a couple of years before I moved to Canada in 1997. In
1998, I started school in Saskatoon, where I did my PhD. I did my
post-doctorate in Nebraska before I moved to Washington, where
I spent almost five years doing research. I got this job in 2007.
GW:
What are your concerns in terms of diseases in wheat?
HR:
We all know how devastating Fusarium head blight (FHB) is,
and last year was a very bad year. Rain in late July and early August
coincided with hot and humid conditions at flowering time, cre-
ating a perfect environment for fungus. Fusarium not only causes
yield losses because you have a shrivelled grain and it will some-
times blow away with the combine, but the fungus also produces
DON (deoxynivalenol), a vomitoxin, and DON is bad for human
and animal health—you can’t even use that grain for feedlot.
Europe an export markets have a very strict maximum tolerance
for DON content in the grain, so we have to control this disease.
GW:
Is disease resistance all about the breeding?
HR:
You don’t want to put all your eggs in one basket and just
rely on resistance, because it will break down. Our job as breed-
ers is to bring the best genetics and we try to breed resistance for
all diseases, including Fusarium. Then the agronomists and oth-
ers bring in their other controls like fungicide application or crop
rotation. There has to be a total package for best management.
GW:
What are the keys to success in breeding new wheat
varieties?
HR:
It takes 10 years to develop a new variety. We have three cat-
egories of breeding objectives and it’s very complicated to bring
all these things together.
One is agronomic objectives, or what is best for the farmer.
These include high yield, plant height and good straw so the crop
doesn’t lodge. [These factors] depend on the region you’re grow-
ing in. In irrigation areas, they may want a shorter variety, while
in drier locations, they want it a little bit taller. Then maturity:
we have a range—southern Alberta can go about 110 days, but in
the north, they stick to about 90 days for their growing season.
The second category is disease resistance. Some areas are more
prone to one or another of the diseases. Leaf rust, stem rust and
Fusarium are big in Manitoba, while in Alberta, stripe rust and
Fusarium are getting attention. Different regions need a different
resistance package.
The third objective is end-use quality. You can produce the
best grain, but if it doesn’t produce nice bread or noodles or cake,
there’s no use and it just ends up in feed or ethanol. Quality is
determined by protein levels, gluten strength, the colour and
baking properties. We export wheat to more than 70 countries
and everybody uses it differently.
Fall
2017
grainswest.com23
BY ELLEN COTTEE • PHOTOGRAPHY BY GEORGE CLAYTON
A look inside the complexworld of cultivar creationwith
Dr. Harpinder Randhawa
Better breeding
A WHEAT BREEDER WITH AGRICULTURE AND AGRI-FOOD CANADA, DR. HARPINDER RANDHAWA, A RESEARCH
scientist specializing in spring wheat and triticale breeding, has spent more than 20 years immersed in this complex branch of
agricultural science. In his work at the Lethbridge Research and Development Centre, happy farmers are his aim as he develops
varieties with higher yield, improved disease resistance and better qualities for baking, animal feed and industrial uses.