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Biotech in breeding: "We're virtually drinking from the firehose."December 13, 2004: How can new biotech tools benefit conventional crop breeding? Dr. Larry Gusta, University of Saskatchewan has a simple answer: "I always like the old joke: How do you find the ace of spades in a deck of cards? The answer: flip the deck over and look for it. You can shuffle all day, but if you can, you might as well just flip the deck over." That ability is a good analogy for the potential biotechnology holds for crop scientists, says Gusta, a professor and molecular biologist. "With the toys we have available, we can do things we never dreamed about. We can put multiple genes in, analyze them with robotics and computers, perform complex microarrays, and on and on. We're virtually drinking from the firehouse." More information in Western Grains Research Magazine. Winter wheat: the escape artistDecember 13, 2004: The boom in eastern Prairie winter wheat acreage of recent years can be traced largely to the crop's ability to typically avoid the window infestation by Fusarium Head Blight and wheat midge, reports Bob Linnell, Executive Director of Winter Cereals Canada. Last crop year saw high winter wheat production in the Prairie provinces, with approximately 700,000 seeded acres. With more farmers growing the crop, and having success with improved production strategies and varieties, winter wheat has opened a lot of eyes to the great potential of the crop, says Linnell. Superior varieties with high yield potential, improved agronomic strategies and special marketing incentives are all fueling winter wheat interest. Production flexibility is another key advantage, says Linnell. "Farm size has been increasing, and farmers like to spread out their workload. Planting winter wheat gets rid of some of the spring rush in seeding." Composting reduces "bulls eye" effectComposting is an economical approach to helping feedlots reduce manure volume for easier transport, says Dr. Frank Larney, a researcher who completed a broad study of composting with support from the Canada Alberta Beef Industry Development Fund (CABIDF.) "The results demonstrate that composting is a viable option for feedlots interested in producing a product that can be transported more economically than fresh manure," says Larney, of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada in Lethbridge. Due to the cost and added management of hauling manure to outlying areas, most fresh manure is spread on land adjacent to feedlots, says Larney. "This gives rise to the so-called 'bulls eye' effect, where soil test levels for N and P are very high close to feedlots and diminish with distance." More information is available on the CABIDF Web site. Reprintable with permission. Reproduction of this article - in whole or in part, in print or electronic - requires direct permission from Meristem Information Resources, Ltd. Contact Meristem directly to request reprint permission. |
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International scientists raise warning flag on intestinal cholesterol 