Basic HTML Version
Sciencemayhold the secret toa breedofwheat
that comes back year after year
Growing up in the rural
community of Walkerton, ON, a lot of
Jamie Larsen’s buddies were becoming
farmers. And while his friends were think-
ing about what crops to plant, Larsen was
always wondering why they should grow
certain crops and how they would do it.
“Yeah, I was always wondering about
the science,” the research scientist
recalled from his office at the Lethbridge
Research Centre. “It’s always been some-
thing that really intrigued me. My Grade
7 science project was looking at beans and
what soil they grew best in. So I’ve always
had an interest in plant science and agri-
culture, and it’s grown over time.”
This fascination has led Larsen to his
current (and very novel) project, perenni-
al wheat breeding, which aims to develop
a breed of wheat that will come back year
after year after being planted only once. It
will be the first of its kind in the world.
The project is currently being funded
by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada.
“It is really cool,” he said about being an
innovator in this field. “There’s less than a
handful of people doing this in the world.
It’s really cool from that perspective, to be a
pioneer and be a part of that small group.”
One of those other people is Lee De-
Haan, a plant geneticist at The Land Insti-
tute in Salina, Kansas, who will soon be
working with Larsen on the new strain.
“I love working on perennial grains
crop development,” said DeHaan, who has
been working on perennial wheat since
2001. “These new crops hold the promise
of being able to simultaneously: one, pro-
vide abundant human food; two, improve
the economic situation for farmers by
reducing inputs while maintaining yields;
and three, eliminate and reduce the nega-
tive environmental impacts that can come
from today’s farming practices.”
Larsen and DeHaan see the benefits
of perennial wheat as numerous and
far-reaching for farmers and the industry.
Since it only needs to be planted once,
the farmer has significant cost savings
in seed purchase, land tilling and fuel.
The longer-living plants will be exposed
to more moisture and sunlight, requiring
less irrigation and reducing soil and fer-
tilizer erosion on the land. Additionally,
by occupying the land for longer periods
of time (Larsen is working on a perennial
that will last two to three years), they help
keep out any intruding weeds.
“And with those [perennial roots] in the
soil for all those years, it’ll increase the or-
ganic matter and its quality,” Larsen said.
“The soil traps the water and good stuff,
making it a pretty ideal environment to
grow a crop in.”
Stephen Vandervalk, vice-president of
the Western Canadian Wheat Growers As-
sociation and a farmer near Fort Macleod,
said, “there would definitely be lots of
positives” for perennial wheat, including
saving time and money on fuel costs and
upgrades to seeding equipment.
“There’s no question,” Vandervalk said,
“depending on what they charge for the
seed, a perennial wheat would be a huge
net benefit for cereals and make it a little
more competitive with some of the spe-
cialty crops and canola.
“We have significant wireworm prob-
lems in Western Canada and it would
have to be resistant to that,” he added.
“That would be a big factor, especially if
it’s in the ground for a couple of years.”
But it will be a while before Larsen
knows if the strain will be resistant to
pests like wireworm. He said that it will
take a minimum of 20 years, but likely
more, to develop perennial wheat.
“When I tell people that I’m a perennial
ComeBack forMore
By Gen Handley
Fast Facts
1)
Significant effort was put into
developing perennial wheat in
the early 1900s in Russia, Can-
ada, Germany and the United
States. Breeding stopped for
about 40 years, resulting in
the loss of important germ-
plasm and breeding material.
2)
Perennial wheat is being
developed through interge-
neric crosses between wheat
(bread and durum wheat)
and
Thinopyrum
sp. (a tall
wheatgrass and common
perennial forage species in
Western Canada).
Thinopy-
rum
sp. is mined for disease-
and pest-resistant genes,
which can be moved into
mainstream wheat.
3)
Perennial wheat could provide
an economic advantage for
mixed operations. Top growth
can be grazed in the spring
and fall, which would extend
grazing periods while still pro-
ducing a valuable grain crop.
4)
Its roots can extend twice as
long as regular wheat, mean-
ing more biomass and organic
matter in the soil, improved
nutrient capture and water
retention.
wheat breeder, it’s difficult for them to
wrap their heads around that,” Larsen
said with a small chuckle. “It’s hard to
wrap your head around the length of time
it will take to develop it, but also what it
could do for farmers and the industry.”
Spring
2014
grainswest.com
49