The challenging dilemma between genomic sequencing and traditional knowledge Historically, to develop a new plant variety, there needed to be two distinct varieties to be able to cross-pollinate. If one variety was higher yielding and the other had strong disease resistance, they could be crossed with the goal of being Read more…
Are Canadian plant breeders utilizing the innovations of gene editing? It would be inaccurate to say that plant breeders in Canada are ‘a dime a dozen’. A rough estimate places the number of professional plant breeders in Canada at 500. Given the recent innovations available to plant breeders, we thought Read more…
After years of varietal development, the most promising varieties are selected to begin the process of registering them for commercial use. Under Canadian legislation, the Seeds Act and Seeds Regulations govern the testing, inspection, quality, and sale of all seeds. This legislation ensures that all seeds, whether imported or developed domestically, are proven to be safe for production and consumption before they reach the fields of Canadian farmers. In this final blog of the #LabtoField series, we explore how newly developed crop varieties become registered seed for use in Canada.
48 Years of Innovation Success Founded in 1971, the University of Saskatchewan’s Crop Development Centre (CDC) focuses on research and development of new crop varieties. Over the years the varieties have expanded to include: spring wheat, durum wheat, canary seed, barley, oats, flax, field peas, lentils, chickpeas, faba beans and Read more…
Part 7: Varietal Testing at the U of S Grains Innovation Lab This is the seventh of a series of #LabToField blogs that explain the yearly cycle of variety development. Click here to read Part 1: Phytotrons, Part 2: Agriculture Greenhouses, Part 3: The U of S Seed Lab, Part Read more…
Part 4: Seeding Variety Test Plots This is the fourth of a series of #LabToField blogs that will explain the yearly cycle of variety development. Click here to read Part 1: Phytotrons, Part 2: Agriculture Greenhouses, or Part 3: The U of S Seed Lab. Kernen Research Farm The majority Read more…
Part 3: Developing New Varieties at the Crop Science Field Laboratory This is the third post of a series of #LabToField blogs that will explain the yearly cycle of variety development. Click here to read Part 1: Phytotrons or Part 2: The Agriculture Greenhouses The Crop Science Field Laboratory The Crop Science Read more…
Part 2: A Visit to the Agriculture Greenhouses This is the second post of a series of #LabToField blogs that will explain the yearly cycle of variety development. Click here to read Part 1: Phytotrons. U of S Celebrating Hort Week: May 4 to 12, 2019 “Connect with like-minded gardeners Read more…
Spring has sprung. As the sun and warm temperatures melt away the remnants of winter, farmers across Canada are gearing up for seeding. Throughout the winter, hours have been spent choosing the best crop varieties for each farm operation. While this happens yearly, have you ever stopped to consider the Read more…
Numerous other consumer benefits expected Over the past three years, my research team has been surveying an international panel of experts about genome editing. This panel of experts consists of over 700 experts from around the world which include plant breeders, regulators and corporate regulatory officials. Since we began, we Read more…