Ongoing Projects
Plant establishment
| Project title | Principal investigator, Affiliation | Funders |
|---|---|---|
| Beneficial practices for soil and water quality, excess water management and drought resiliency in an undulating soil landscape in southwestern Manitoba | David Whetter, AgriEarth Consulting | Manitoba Canola Growers |
| Climate change resilience of Prairie oilseed crops and their below-ground microbiota under drought stress in controlled and field environments | Tim Dumonceaux, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada Saskatoon | SaskOilseeds |
| Using modulated on-farm response surface experiments (MORSE) to develop evidence based, agronomic recommendations | Steve Shirtliffe, University of Saskatchewan | SaskOilseeds, Sask Wheat, Western Grains Research Foundation |
| Optimizing crop rotations to enhance agronomic, economic and environmental performance | Ramona Mohr, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada Brandon | Manitoba Canola Growers |
Nutrient management
| Project title | Principal investigator, Affiliation | Funders |
|---|---|---|
| Do we need deep banding of phosphorus in no-till systems in the Canadian Prairies? | Maryse Bourgault, University of Saskatchewan | SaskOilseeds, Western Grains Research Foundation |
| Strategies to build sustainable P levels and optimize water use efficiencies on low P soil | Gursahib Singh, Irrigation Crop Diversification Corporation | SaskOilseeds, Sask Wheat |
| Using a 4Rs Plus approach to improve growth and sustainability of annual cropping systems in Saskatchewan | Blake Weiseth, Discovery Farm | SaskOilseeds, Sask Wheat |
| Collecting the carbon data needed for climate-smart agriculture in Saskatchewan | Kate Congreves, University of Saskatchewan | SaskOilseeds, Sask Wheat, SaskOats, Saskatchewan’s Agriculture Development Fund |
| Climate-smart canola: quantifying soil- and fertilizer-derived nitrogen sources and greenhouse gas emissions under canola hybrids | Melissa Arcand, University of Saskatchewan | SaskOilseeds, Alberta Canola, Manitoba Canola Growers, Western Grains Research Foundation |
| How does fall-applied nitrogen fertilizer influence soil-emitted nitrous oxide emissions during the over-winter and spring thaw period in the semi-arid Prairies? | Reynald Lemke, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada Saskatoon | Alberta Canola |
| Discovering the optimal rate of a dual-inhibitor nitrogen fertilizer for maximum N2O emissions reduction | Reynald Lemke, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada Saskatoon | SaskOilseeds, Saskatchewan’s Agriculture Development Fund, Western Grains Research Foundation, Sask Wheat |
| Evaluation of variable rate applied enhanced efficiency N fertilizers on wheat and canola – field scale management zones comparison | Haben Tedla, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada Saskatoon | SaskOilseeds, Sask Wheat |
| Biological nitrogen fixation in canola | Alicja Ziemienowicz, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada Lethbridge | Alberta Canola, Alberta Innovates, Western Grains Research Foundation, Alberta’s Results Driven Agriculture Research |
| Tracing carbon and nitrogen during crop residue decomposition to optimize C sequestration and predict N transfer credit | Bobbi Helgason, University of Saskatchewan | SaskOilseeds, Sask Wheat, SaskBarley |
| Impact of phosphorus fertilizer forms on nutrition of wheat, pea and canola, soil fate and losses in run-off water | Jeff Schoenau, University of Saskatchewan | SaskOilseeds, Sask Wheat, SaskPulse, Western Grains Research Foundation |
| Shining a light on digital agriculture: Linking soil NIR measurements, fertility and crop yields | Derek Peak, University of Saskatchewan | SaskOilseeds, Sask Wheat, Saskatchewan’s Agriculture Development Fund |
Integrated pest management
| Project title | Principal Investigator, Affiliation | Funders |
|---|---|---|
| The Prairie Crop Disease Monitoring Network: Fostering further network development | Kelly Turkington, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada Lacombe | SaskOilseeds, Alberta Canola, Manitoba Canola Growers and others |
| Monitoring changes in Leptosphaeria maculans races and blackleg impact on canola after the introduction of the new R genes Rlm2, Rlm4 and Rlm7 | Gary Peng, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada Saskatoon | SaskOilseeds, Alberta Canola, Western Grains Research Foundation |
| Understanding the role of the clubroot pathogen kinases in disease progress and resistance | Edel Pérez-López, Université Laval | Alberta Canola, SaskOilseeds, Manitoba Canola Growers |
| Evaluation of the root-associated fungus Olpidium brassicae and its interactions with Plasmodiophora brassicae | Jennifer Town, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada Saskatoon | SaskOilseeds, Saskatchewan’s Agriculture Development Fund, Western Grains Research Foundation |
| Cover crops for flea beetle management | Yvonne Lawley, University of Manitoba | Manitoba Canola Growers, Western Grains Research Foundation |
| Insect response to climate change and ag-inputs across the Prairies | Meghan Vankosky, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada Saskatoon | SaskOilseeds, Alberta Canola, Manitoba Canola Growers and others |
| Balancing economic, action, and seed production thresholds for glyphosate-resistant kochia in canola | Charles Geddes, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada Lethbridge | SaskOilseeds, Western Grains Research Foundation |
| Digging out the unknown: Finding the resistance against verticillium stripe in canola | Dilantha Fernando, University of Manitoba | Alberta Canola, SaskOilseeds, Manitoba Canola Growers, Western Grains Research Foundation |
| The role of insect feeding and plant defense responses in aster yellows disease epidemiology | Sean Prager, University of Saskatchewan | Alberta Canola, Manitoba Canola Growers |
| Biocontrol of blackleg using carnivorous bacteria (part 1) | Paul Holloway, University of Winnipeg | Manitoba Canola Growers, Western Grains Research Foundation |
| Influence of pH on the clubroot pathogen: are there pH-insensitive strains? | Stephen Strelkov, University of Alberta | Alberta Canola, SaskOilseeds, Manitoba Canola Growers, Western Grains Research Foundation |
| Clubroot inoculum management for sustainable canola production | Stephen Strelkov, University of Alberta | Alberta Canola, Alberta Agriculture, Forestry and Rural Economic Development |
| A rapid molecular assay to identify Plasmodiophora brassicae pathotypes from plant and soil samples | Stephen Strelkov, University of Alberta | Alberta Canola, Alberta Agriculture, Forestry and Rural Economic Development |
| Application of hyperspectral imaging for detection and mapping of small patch clubroot infestations in commercial canola fields | David Halstead, Saskatchewan Polytechnic | SaskOilseeds, Saskatchewan’s Agriculture Development Fund |
| Understanding fusarium wilt and root rot of hybrid canola occurrence, host range, disease development, resistance and yield | Sheau-Fang Hwang, University of Alberta | Alberta Canola, Alberta’s Results Driven Agriculture Research |
| Biopesticides as a novel management strategy for sclerotinia in canola | Tim Dumonceaux and Susan Boyetchko, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada Saskatoon | SaskOilseeds, Manitoba Canola Growers |
| Identifying key predators and their role in canola insect pest suppression | Boyd Mori, University of Alberta | Alberta Canola, Manitoba Canola Growers, Western Grains Research Foundation |
| Insecticide susceptibility and resistance monitoring of flea beetles in canola | Boyd Mori, University of Alberta | Alberta Canola, Western Grains Research Foundation, Alberta’s Results Driven Agriculture Research |
| Continuing to watch the winds: the origin and arrival of migrant aster leafhoppers and diamondback moths | Tyler Wist, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada Saskatoon | SaskOilseeds, Western Grains Research Foundation |
| Biological control of lygus plant bugs in established and emerging crops | Hector Carcamo, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada Lethbridge | Alberta Canola |
| Comprehensive investigation of pesticides in honey, pollen, bees and soil collected from canola fields | Elemir Simko, University of Saskatchewan | SaskOilseeds, Saskatchewan’s Agriculture Development Fund |
| Develop and assess different strategies to reduce the impact of pollen beetle Brassicogethes viridescens (Coleoptera: Nitidulidae), a new invasive insect pest on canola | Christine Noronha, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada Charlottetown | Alberta Canola, Manitoba Canola Growers, Alberta’s Results Driven Agriculture Research, Western Grains Research Foundation |
| Effects of heat and drought on canola – pollinator interactions and crop yield | Shelley Hoover, University of Lethbridge | Alberta Canola, Alberta’s Results Driven Agriculture Research |
| Enhance understanding of cleavers populations in western Canada | Breanne Tidemann, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada Lacombe | SaskOilseeds, Alberta Canola, Western Grains Research Foundation |
| Screening false cleavers from the Prairie Herbicide Resistance Surveys for quinclorac and glyphosate resistance | Breanne Tidemann, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada Lacombe | Alberta Canola, Western Grains Research Foundation |
| Updating the critical weed free period in canola | Rob Gulden, University of Manitoba | SaskOilseeds, Alberta Canola, Manitoba Canola Growers, Alberta’s Results Driven Agriculture Research |
| The Prairie Weed Monitoring Network: Building a strong biovigilance foundation | Charles Geddes, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada Lethbridge | Alberta Canola, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Alberta Grains, Manitoba Crop Alliance, Manitoba Canola Growers, Manitoba Pulse & Soybeans, Prairie Oat Growers, SaskOilseeds, SaskPulse, Sask Wheat |
| Manipulating weed seed production through phenology-based weed control | Charles Geddes, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada Lethbridge | Alberta Canola, Western Grains Research Foundation |
| Prairie weed surveys | Julia Leeson, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada Saskatoon | Western Grains Research Foundation, SaskOilseeds and other commodity groups |
| Promotion of wetland stewardship best management practices through a targeted water monitoring project | Tony Ciarla, Millenium EMS Solutions | Alberta Canola and various other public and private funders |
| NSERC Industrial Research Chair in Agricultural Entomology | Boyd Mori, University of Alberta | Alberta Canola, Alberta Barley Commission, Alberta Pulse Growers, Alberta Wheat Commission and Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) |
Genetics
| Project title | Principal investigator, Affiliation | Funders |
|---|---|---|
| Identifying novel genetic factors contributing to durable disease resistance in canola | Isobel Parkin, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada Saskatoon | SaskOilseeds, Saskatchewan’s Agriculture Development Fund, Western Grains Research Foundation |
| Functional use of core pathogenicity genes to develop mitigation strategies against blackleg of canola and FHB of wheat | Hossein Borhan, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada Saskatoon | SaskOilseeds, Saskatchewan’s Agriculture Development Fund, Western Grains Research Foundation, Manitoba Crop Alliance |
| Exploiting susceptibility genes in canola to improve blackleg resistance | Gary Peng, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada Saskatoon | Alberta Canola, SaskOilseeds, Manitoba Canola Growers, Western Grains Research Foundation |
| Capturing ancestral diversity for developing climate ready canola | Isobel Parkin, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada Saskatoon | Alberta Canola, SaskOilseeds, Western Grains Research Foundation |
| Clubroot resistance gene function based on whole genome sequences, genome editing and resistance phenotypes | Stephen Strelkov, University of Alberta | SaskOilseeds, Alberta Canola, Alberta’s Results Driven Agriculture Research |
| Virus-induced gene silencing in hairy roots to test root pathogen resistance | Chris Todd, University of Saskatchewan | SaskOilseeds |
| Evaluation of the A-genome genes for resistance to Plasmodiophora brassicae pathotypes, and their combined effect with the C-genome resistance | Habibur Rahman, University of Alberta | Alberta Canola, Alberta’s Results Driven Agriculture Research |
| Dissecting the genetics of B. napus resistance to clubroot | Hossein Borhan, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada Saskatoon | Alberta Canola, Alberta’s Results Driven Agriculture Research, Western Grains Research Foundation |
| Enhancing clubroot resistance in canola through regulating a transcription factor AIL7 | Gavin Chen, University of Alberta | Alberta Canola, Alberta’s Results Driven Agriculture Research, Western Grains Research Foundation |
| Elevating canola yield and oil and protein content by altering cellular carbon partitioning | Gavin Chen, University of Alberta | Alberta Canola, Alberta’s Results Driven Agriculture Research, Alberta Innovates |
| Developing allele specific molecular markers for the B. napus blackleg resistance (Rlm) genes | Hossein Borhan, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada Saskatoon | SaskOilseeds, Western Grains Research Foundation |
| Identification of genetic mapping of novel genes for resistance to blackleg in Chinese and Canadian Brassica napus | Dilantha Fernando, University of Manitoba | SaskOilseeds |
| Building bridges to success – Accessing brassica diploid variation for canola improvement | Steve Robinson, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada Saskatoon | Alberta Canola, Manitoba Canola Growers, SaskOilseeds |
| Modification of surface waxes for improved water retention in canola | Mark Smith, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada Saskatoon | SaskOilseeds, Saskatchewan’s Agriculture Development Fund, Western Grains Research Foundation |
| Modified lipid metabolism to deliver improved low temperature tolerance in Brassica napus | Mark Smith, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada Saskatoon | SaskOilseeds, Saskatchewan’s Agriculture Development Fund |
| Improving heat and drought resistance in canola through regulating diacylglycerol acyltransferase activity | Gavin Chen, University of Alberta | SaskOilseeds, Western Grains Research Foundation |
| Using avirulence markers to predict the phenotypes of clubroot pathotypes | Edel Pérez-López, Université Laval | Alberta Canola, Manitoba Canola Growers, Western Grains Research Foundation |
| Efficient identification of Plasmodiophora brassicae pathotypes by metabarcoding | Stephen Strelkov, University of Alberta | Alberta Canola, Alberta’s Results Driven Agriculture Research, Western Grains Research Foundation |
| Understanding the molecular basis of NLR-mediated clubroot resistance in Brassica napus | Edel Pérez-López, Université Laval | SaskOilseeds, Alberta Canola, Western Grains Research Foundation |
| A proteomics-based approach towards identifying host and pathogen proteins critical to clubroot establishment in canola | Christopher Todd, University of Saskatchewan | SaskOilseeds, Western Grains Research Foundation |
| Developing single-spore isolates of pathotypes of Plasmodiophora brassicae | Mary Ruth MacDonald, University of Guelph | SaskOilseeds |
| Purifying genotypes of P. brassicae and developing markers linked to races of P. brassicae collected in Western Canada | Fengqun Yu, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada Saskatoon | SaskOilseeds, Manitoba Canola Growers, Western Grains Research Foundation |
| Cloning clubroot resistance genes from B. nigra and transferring the genes into canola through a CRISPR/Cas9 based technology | Fengqun Yu, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada Saskatoon | SaskOilseeds, Saskatchewan’s Agriculture Development Fund, Western Grains Research Foundation |
| Deploying calcium-dependent protein kinases to fight canola pathogens | Jacqueline Monaghan, Queen’s University | SaskOilseeds, Alberta Canola, Manitoba Canola Growers, Western Grains Research Foundation |
| Identification and exploitation of genome structural variants for trait improvement in Prairie crops | Andrew Sharpe, Global Institute for Food Security | SaskOilseeds, Sask Wheat, Alberta Grains, Western Grains Research Foundation |
| Identifying the optimal root system architecture for Brassica crops | Isobel Parkin, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada Saskatoon | SaskOilseeds, Saskatchewan’s Agriculture Development Fund |
| Evaluating canola germplasm for photosynthetic efficiency | Linda Gorim, University of Alberta | Alberta Canola, Alberta’s Results Driven Agriculture Research |
| Pre-breeding lines combining canola quality with sclerotinia resistance, good agronomy and genomic diversity from PAK93 | Sally Vail, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada Saskatoon | Alberta Canola, Manitoba Canola Growers, SaskOilseeds, Western Grains Research Foundation |
| Determine the contribution of specific defense genes to Sclerotinia sclerotiorum resistance in canola (Brassica napus) | Lone Buchwaldt, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada Saskatoon | SaskOilseeds, Saskatchewan’s Agriculture Development Fund |
| Addressing yield stability drivers of canola in a changing climate using high throughput phenotyping | Sally Vail, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada Saskatoon | Manitoba Canola Growers, SaskOilseeds, Western Grains Research Foundation |