Lodging is an important limiting factor in wheat because it affects growth, yield and grain quality. Plant growth regulators (PGRs) are often used to restrain elongation of internodes, improve lodging traits, and protect yield potentials. An experiment was set up in the greenhouse at the Ottawa Research and Development Centre (ORDC) to study the effect of the selected PGRs (Manipulator, the active ingredient of which is chlormequat; and Palisade, the active ingredient of which is trinexapac-ethyl) on yield, stem height and morphological traits in six spring wheat cultivars (AC Carberry, AAC Scotia, Hoffman, Fuzion, FL62R1, and AW725). Both PGRs reduced plant height and caused a 6% to 48% reduction in the length of the second basal internode. The mixture of the two PGRs had a synergistic affect and made the stem shorter. The application of PGRs significantly reduced lodging, increased stem diameter, thickness, filling degree, and stem strength, and increased leaf relative chlorophyll content. However, application of PGRs significantly reduced grain yield, and the combination of the two PGRs (Manipulator and Palisade) had a synergistic effect and lowered the yield. In general, the effect of Palisade was more evident than that of Manipulator.

The study was conducted to evaluate in vitro pollen germination of 50 spring wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) accessions at three storage temperatures (23 °C, 5 °C, and -20 °C). Germination of the mature pollen was measured right after harvest (0 time), and 24, 48, and 72 h after storage (HAS). Differences in fresh pollen germination between accessions were significant and ranged from 21.15% to 1.09%. Pollen germination was the lowest at 24 h at room temperature. The pollens of 24 wheat accessions (AAC Scotia, AW636, AW725, AW780, AW804, AW822, AW823, Brookfield, BRS Pardela, ECSW05, ECSW38, ECSW48, ECSW49, ECSW69, Hoffman, Kleos, Major, Nass, 12NQW-237, 12NQW-413, 12NQW-414, 12NQW-436, 12NQW-754, and 12BW0374) were viable after 24 h when they were stored at 5 °C. Sub-zero temperature did not prolong pollen viability.

Twenty-five hard red spring wheat (Triticum aestivum) lines, including three known cultivars used as checks, were grown in seven locations across Eastern Canada. The objective of this multi-location experiment was to evaluate selected Eastern Cereal and Oilseed Research Centre advanced lines (ECAD lines) from the Spring Wheat Breeding Program in order to identify the best lines for performance and grower trials. The lines from this trial performed very well compared to the check varieties, especially at the Ontario locations. Overall, the ECAD lines were on a par with or superior to the checks in terms of several attributes, including yield, protein content, and Fusarium head blight resistance.

Twenty-three selected advanced spring wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) lines from Ottawa Research and Development Centre (ORDC) were compared with four known cultivars for agronomic performance at eight sites in 2016 (Ottawa CEF-C1, Ottawa CEF-C2, St. Isidore, Harrington, Palmerston, Princeville, Kincardine, Beloeil) in Eastern Canada, and for fusarium head blight (FHB). The reaction of these lines to six races of LR was determined in a growth cabinet and the LR susceptible cultivar ‘Morocco’ was included as the control for disease development in these trials. The majority of the selected lines showed no significant differences compared to four check cultivars, however ECSW05 and ECSW48, showed higher yield, moderate resistance to FHB and resistance to most of the tested LR races. Lines ECSW05 and ECSW48 will be advanced to grower’s trials in eastern Canada in 2018 and may be used as sources of resistance to LR for future cultivar development in Eastern Canada.

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