Research
Making every Manitoba Farmer member more productive and sustainable
Manitoba Crop Alliance’s research program invests in research that will make every Manitoba farmer member more productive and sustainable, providing data to help members make decisions for their operations. Investments will be made towards meaningful, independent research and valuable knowledge as outlined in our strategic plan.
Our research priorities are identified each year by our farmer-led crop committees. MCA has four crop committees: wheat & barley, flax, sunflower and corn.
We address identified research priorities through collaboration in provincial and federal funding programs, and internal funding programs such as our Whole Farm Research program. In addition, we lead a Research on the Farm program and support numerous variety evaluation trials (e.g., Manitoba Corn Committee, Manitoba Crop Variety Evaluation Team, Sunflower Variety Performance Trials), which provide unique opportunities for the creation of sound data that can help farmers make informed decisions for their operations.
We take pride in the role farmer members play in identifying research priorities and initiatives. If you are interested in contributing to discussions about research that could impact your farm, consider becoming a crop committee delegate!
General MCA research priorities include:
- Variety development and genetic enhancement
- Applied agronomy
- Disease and pest management
- Crop quality
- Economics and farm profitability
- Value-add opportunities
Crop Specific Research
Select a crop below to view all related research projects.
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Start Date: 2019
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Completion Date: 2022
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Project Status: Completed
This study looks at a long term study that began in 1992 that includes grain-based crop rotations in "annual only" and "perennial-annual" systems to establish soil water minitoring to assess the impacts long term rotations have on soild water dynamics.… Read More
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Start Date: 2019
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Completion Date: 2022
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Project Status: Completed
This project consisted of two parts, an on farm experiment and a small plot experiment. In the on-farm experiment four fields prone to excess moisture were identified to establish if overwintering cover crops established in the fall will facilitate fall… Read More
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Start Date: 2019
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Completion Date: 2022
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Project Status: Completed
On Manitoba farms, excess moisture can be the source of many challenges, including soil erosion, reduced field trafficability, reduced crop yield and quality and loss of farm income. This project aimed to help farmers to manage excess moisture by assessing… Read More
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Start Date: 2016
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Completion Date: 2018
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Project Status: Completed
Given the large value of the farm investment in N fertilizer and expected returns to that investment, Manitoba wheat producers will receive financial benefits from optimizing fertilizer use on individual farms and fields. Read More
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Start Date: 2015
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Completion Date: 2020
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Project Status: Completed
Little is known about how stem properties such as strength, diameter, wall wall width and height contribute to standability and few markers exist to select for preferred traits. This project will identify, dissect, and prioritize traits that contribute to maximum… Read More
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Start Date: 2019
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Completion Date: 2022
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Project Status: Completed
Currently evaluation of moisture resilience by variety is not available for producers, in spite of moisture being the most probable cause for yield reductions. This project will evaluate the performance of MCVET varieties under extreme moisture conditions. Read More
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Start Date: 2017
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Completion Date: 2022
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Project Status: Completed
This information will help producers make decisions on where to focus their input dollars and will provide an opportunity to highlight the effects of PGR’s in spring wheat production. This information can also be used to determine if the variety… Read More
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Start Date: 2021
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Completion Date: 2023
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Project Status: Ongoing
Generating barley varieties with enhanced FHB resistance is complex because multiple fungal compounds and plant genes influence disease severity. We recently discovered a fungal compound called gramillin that promotes FHB severity in barley and is toxic to plants, killing cells… Read More
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Start Date: 2021
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Completion Date: 2023
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Project Status: Ongoing
Preliminary observations in Dr. Bakker’s lab have revealed that there are trichomes on the inner surface of the hull; these have never been explored for potential interactions with Fusarium growth. Using field-grown barley, including multiple different lines and varieties, we… Read More