GrainsWest Fall 2020

Fall 2020 grainswest.com 41 ARLEY BREEDING AND GENETICS As science continues its quest to combat FHB, a recently completed project examined new breeding methods to develop FHB-resistant barley varieties. “This initiative was built on a foundation of localized experience of FHB in barley,” said Ana Badea, Agriculture and Agri- Food Canada (AAFC) research scientist in barley breeding and genetics. The project has centred around a large FHB nursery at Brandon, MB, that has been in operation since 2000. “A sizeable panel of Canadian barley breeding lines was evaluated in multiple FHB nurseries for their reaction to FHB and the content and level of the associated mycotoxin deoxynivalenol [DON].” The project was a continuation of a previous collaboration that examined FHB in barley. Collaborators included Dilantha Fernando, University of Manitoba Department of Plant Science professor and dean of studies. AAFC Brandon Research and Development Centre contributors included Badea, Bill Legge, a retired barley breeder and James Tucker, a barley genomics research scientist. As part of the current project, which involved Tucker, Fernando and Badea, researchers used molecular data to develop predictive models for PART 2 Two research projects may improve FHB resistance in barley andwheat A JUMPON GENOMICS BY GEOFF GEDDES B Research scientist Ana Badea participated in an AAFC study of FHB resistance in barley. Photo:CourtesyofAnaBadea