Project Title: DURUM WHEAT IMPROVEMENT

Duration: 10/01/91 - 09/30/96

Sub Class:

Durum Wheat

Objectives: To develop durum WHEAT cultivars with high yield, high quality and accepted agronomic characteristics. To further study the effects of chromosomes 4A, 4B, and 6B of Triticum turgidum L. var. dicoccoides on durum WHEAT. To evaluate recurrent selection as a breeding method for durum WHEAT improvement. To identify new sources of resistance to pre-harvest dormancy and foliar diseases and determine their heritability.

Approach: Durum WHEAT cultivars that possess high yield, high quality, and resistance to foliar diseases and pre-harvest sprouting will be developed using the pedigree breeding method. Several elite lines currently are being evaluated to identify new sources of resistance to foliar diseases and pre-harvest sprouting. A study is being conducted to evaluate the possibility of using LDN(DIC) for improving grain protein content and quality in the cultivar Vic. Recurrent selection is being evaluated as a potential breeding method for durum WHEAT.

Keywords: DURUM-WHEAT PLANT-IMPROVEMENT WHEAT CROP-QUALITY CULTIVARS CHROMOSOMES PLANT-GENETICS FOLIAR-DISEASES PLANT-DISEASE-CONTROL PRE-HARVEST SEPTORIA-TRITICI RECURRENT-SELECTION SEPTORIA-NODORUM FUNGUS-DISEASES-(PLANTS) PLANT-BREEDING NATURE-OF-RESISTANCE HERITABILITY CROP-YIELDS

Progress:

Harvested 1994 durum WHEAT acreage was approx. 0.91 m. ha in ND which was 85% oftotal US acreage, producing 2.0 m. T and accounting for 78% of US durum production. The URDN was grown at 15 locations. Cool temps and rains in July, Aug. and Sept. resulted in heavy infections with scab, tan spot, and Septoria diseases. The Prosper location was harvested but the low quality data was not used because of these diseases. Unseasonable cool temps and rains at the Langdon location delayed harvest 1-2 weeks and caused unreliable data. In general, yield, test weight, and kernel weights varied from plot to plot and very low. Quality data will be collected from Langdon but Prosper will not be collected because of lack of seed quantity and quality. D8460 was increased for possible 1995 release. 293 new crosses were made. Approximately 19,129 F3-F6 new lines were evaluated for agronomic and quality traits. O. Olmedo completed his PhD study on use of recurrent selection to increase yield in durum WHEAT. Mr. Xia, a visiting scientist from China evaluated 213 lines for pre-harvest dormancy. Several durum lines had pre-harvest dormancy approaching the levels found in the resistant hexaploid checks. Several elite lines and crosses with sumai #3 were evaluated for scab. There is little variation among lines. The resistance in sumai #3 appears to be on the D genome.

Publications:

XIA, S.Y., AND E.M. ELIAS. 1994. Evaluation of pre-harvest dormancy in durum WHEAT. p. 127. In Agronomy Abstracts, ASA, Madison, WI. OLMEDO-ARCEGA, O.B. 1994. Evaluation of recurrent selection for grain yield and its effect on correlated traits in durum WHEAT. Ph.D. thesis, North Dakota StateUniversity, Fargo.

Relevance: Biological Efficiency-Field Crops
Relevance: Disease Control-Field Crops
Relevance: Conservation and Efficient Use of Water
Relevance: Biological Efficiency of Plants, Animals
Relevance: Protection Against Diseases, Parasites
Relevance: Protection Against Climatic Extremes
Relevance: Biology of Plants and Animals
Relevance: Wheat
Relevance: Genetics and Breeding-Plant

General Relevance: WHEAT
General Relevance: Production
General Relevance: Protection

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