Research

The most desirable approach to protect crops against pathogens is to breed cultivars with disease resistance (R) genes. However, current methodologies to discover new R genes are labor intensive and are limited by germplasms that are effective against a single… Read More

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

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

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

The deliverables of this project will complement other national and international efforts for the identification of virulence genes in F. graminearum, which are mainly focused on reverse genetic studies, meanwhile it exemplifies the necessity of integrating forward and reverse genetics… Read More

This project will maintain progress in breeding improved DON resistant barley varieties and to identify new tools to breed for DON resistance. Read More

The long-term goal of this research, is to utilize natural immunity in wheat germplasm to identify new sources of effective resistance. The novel resistance genes identified will eventually be passed on to wheat breeding programs for development of FHB and… Read More

This project will look at the effect of foliar fungicide strategies on the mitigation of FHB in barley. Read More

The new source of Fusarium resistance (not yet tapped by local breeders), combined with the resistance already present in commercial cultivars, could reduce the impact of more aggressive F. graminearum chemotypes on grain yield and quality losses as well as… Read More