Winter wheat breeder wants to know why growers plant the varieties they do

Washington Ag Today December 28, 2009 Why does a farmer select the particular winter wheat variety he or she does to plant? That is something Aaron Carter, who was named Washington State University’s new winter wheat breeder earlier this year, is interested in.

Carter: “Yeah, I like to understand what they are basing their selection criterion on when they are picking a cultivar. It really allows me to determine where I want to put the major focus in the breeding program. If I need to look at some novel traits I need to bring in if there are certain issues they are faced with. And of course every farmer that I talk to has a different concern but being able to bridge some of these gaps and maybe address two or three concerns with one variety so it can kind of bridge across regions as well. Again, just trying to get a feel of what they are growing, why they are growing it. What some of their concerns are so that I can begin to adapt that to the breeding program.”

As for what growers are telling Carter they need, he says a lot of it is the usual suspects.

Carter: “You know definitely interested in the production concerns; emergence, reduced lodging. A lot also has to do with disease resistance traits making sure we have that genetic resistance to reduce the fungicide use, pesticide use, that that they need.”

Carter says an increasing concern of growers are wireworms so researchers are looking to find resistance to them that would provide an alternative to a seed treatment.

I’m Bob Hoff and that’s Washington Ag Today on the Northwest Ag Information Network.