Scab Resistance Project Focuses on "Speed Breeding"
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Prairie Grains is the
official publication of
the Minnesota
Association of
Wheat Growers,
North Dakota Grain
Growers Association,
South Dakota Wheat,
Inc., and the
Minnesota Barley
Growers Association.
Speed breeding may sound revelational, but Fox says the concept is based on basic plant breeding and genetics techniques, only applied more aggressively.
Through experimentation, Fox developed a means to push plant development along faster in growth chambers. He increases growth speed by using different combinations and intensities of continuous lighting, both fluorescent and incandescent, at various stages of plant development. Lighting is directed close to the soil in early plant stages and moved up as the plant matures.
The effect is faster crossbreeding results. Certain wheat lines can be moved from planting to maturity from 30 to 45 days. Whereas Fox will obtain six to nine crossbreeding generations in a year, standard breeding programs can usually obtain up to three generations a year.
"I think the ability to do things quickly is needed in crop research," says Fox. "I've found a way to genetically manipulate a plant to make faster improvements. I think that's the most important thing I've got out of the speed-breeding concept."
All the more remarkable about Fox's research is that much of it has been conducted in his own home. The Fox dining room and basement served as plant growth chambers, and the porch as a finishing room and for storage of plants nearing full maturity. "Continuous artificial lighting is used to bring plants to about the soft dough stage," he says. "But for whatever reason, small grains seem to ripen better under more natural conditions."
Starting this winter he'll be doing less research at home, however. Self-employed the last few years, Fox joined Western Plant Breeders, a seed and plant research company, as a special projects breeder last May. Fox moved into an expanded research facility in Fargo, provided by Western Plant Breeders, this past fall. He'll continue to use plant growth chambers in his basement. "But it will be nice to get plant trials out of the dining room," he says.
Fox may be described as a research maverick, but he certainly isn't a stranger to crop breeding. He earned a bachelor's degree in biology and a master's degree in plant physiology from Bowling Green State University, in Ohio. He has a doctorate in plant breeding and genetics from Montana State University.
He arrived at North Dakota State University in 1981 to work on sunflower research, but left in 1984 to head up sunflower research for Stauffer Seed Co. in Fargo. After that company was bought out by Northrup King, Fox soon began his private breeding efforts.
NO NEW VARIETIES, JUST IMPROVED
Fox isn't attempting to develop new wheat varieties. Rather, he's trying to convert or improve common varieties, inserting genes that would make them more scab resistant. He's trying to insert genes from Sumai #3, a scab-tolerant breeding line from China. His goal is to breed scab resistance into 2375, Grandin and Norm. He is also working with Butte 86, Sharp and Vance.
He's already seeing results. "Norm may be the most dramatic. It really is a good well-rounded variety, except for an initial susceptibility to scab. But converting Norm has made a tremendous difference. It will be able to handle scab much better," says Fox.
The Ross Seed Company, Fisher, Minn., has cooperated with some of Fox's research, providing assistance for plot trials and seed increases. Fox's scab resistance project is being funded by the Minnesota Wheat Research and Promotion Council, which administers wheat checkoff dollars.
Although Sumai #3 is resistant to scab, it has other inherent problems; it doesn't fill well, has lower quality characteristics and yields less, and has a susceptibility to stem rust. The key is isolating the genes in Sumai that result in greater scab tolerance, while leaving the undesirable characteristics behind.
"We may have to throw out a few crossbreeding candidates, but it's a problem that's solvable by screening the lines," he says. Fox says he's also monitoring conversions so they don't become too scab resistant; that is, a plant that would put so much of its resources into being scab resistant that other desirable characteristics suffer.
Fox has made other successful varietal conversions. He has converted several hard red spring wheat varieties into white varieties. Wheats with the quality of hard red spring but with a white color are desirable in some markets.
Further, he had a hand in converting several standard feed and malting barley varieties into waxy hull-less varieties. Hulls don't adhere to the kernels of waxy hull-less barley, desirable for use in some industrial and livestock feed markets, and for human consumption.
Once Fox is successful in developing one or more resistant varieties, he'll increase the amount of seed in field plots, again using some of the same speed-breeding techniques for faster results. He thinks it's conceivable scab-tolerant seed could be in the hands of registered growers, perhaps even certified growers, by 1996.
"Economics will play a key role in determining release," says Fox. "If scab continues to be severe and the demand is high for scab-tolerant lines, we'll step up our efforts even further to try to get as much seed from converted varieties out as possible."