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"If you build it, they will come"

September 19, 2005:

That's what the line from the movie says. But unfortunately for wheat genetics researchers, that's not always the case when it comes to designing field tests for insect resistance.

"Improving genetic resistance to insects is particularly challenging because of the difficulty of controlling selection pressures," explains Dr. Ron Knox, who works in the wheat development program at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) in Swift Current. Field trials can be structured with relative ease to measure the performance of agronomic traits such as yield, and nurseries can be constructed to create an environment for measuring disease resistance traits. But measuring pest resistance is more dependent on real world field conditions.

"When pest pressure is not consistent from year to year, as is typically, it is difficult to assess the merits of wheat lines under those conditions," says Knox. "We don't always have the environment available to do the best job that we can."

Knox discuses how new technology such as DNA-based molecular markers are helping researchers overcome this obstacle, in the latest edition of Western Grains Research Magazine.

Color boost to brighten outlook for barley

September 19, 2005:

Scientists at Washington State University are targeting improvements to the color of barley grain used in human food products.

"Dark discoloration of abraded barley kernels when used as a rice extender, in soups or in preparation of baby foods has been a serious concern of food industries and a significant factor preventing use of barley in food formulation," says Dr. Byung-Kee Baik. "To maintain or even increase consumer's interest in barley foods, and to improve the willingness of food processors to use barley in food product formulations, it is crucial to control discoloration of barley-based food products."

Color is one of the most important sensory attributes of food products, says Baik. "A food product with the unacceptable color is not likely to be chosen and eaten by consumers, even it is highly nutritious, flavorful and well texture. White color of flours from cereal grain is generally preferred to dark color. Moreover, most of the food products prepared from cereal grains should be of bright light color to command high quality."

ATM for capturing soil carbon?

September 19, 2005:

While producing and maintaining good quality forage stands is important to sequestering carbon in the soil, there is a natural ebb and flow to the process, says an Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) researcher.

Much like the average personal savings account, sequestering soil carbon is an ongoing process of deposits and withdrawals, says Dr. Vern Baron, a specialist in forage physiology and agronomy at the Lacombe Research Centre in central Alberta. The upper limit is influenced by soil, climate and crop production factors.

"There are a lot of misconceptions about what happens with carbon," says Baron. "Carbon is always in a state of flux. Sometimes it is being stored or sequestered and sometimes it is being released. Nature's goal is to reach equilibrium- strike a balance to match the amount of carbon being stored with the amount being released. That would be a success."

For more about carbon sequestration, visit the Soil Conservation Council of Canada's Web site at www.soilcc.ca.

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