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vars, called land races, in their search for genetic material to breed varieties with larger grains, or for disease resistance. Discovery of the gene responsible for more grains couldmake it possible for re- searchersandaidagencies toimprove land racevarieties, letting local farmerswhostill grow them increase their yields without sacrificing global wheat genetic diversity. “We have a growing human pop- ulation that l ikes to eat every day,” Dubcovsky said in a statement released by UC Davis after the research was pub- lished. “We need to producemorewheat in the same space, so we need plants that are more productive.” (Bob Johnson is a reporter in Monterey Coun t y . He may b e c on t a c t ed a t bjohn11135@gmail.com.)
Saarah Kuzay worked on discovery of the WAPO-A1 wheat gene as part of her doctoral research. The discovery was part of studies on wheat grains and yields.
Researchers at the Dubcovsky Lab are screening the wheat grown in California andnearby states to learn if there are vari- eties that couldbe improvedbybreeding in the gene that causes theplants toproduce more grains. “This is a good example of the value of knowledge,” Dubcovsky said in discuss- ing theongoingproject. “Ifwedidn’t know about thegene,wewouldn’t knowthatdu- rumwheat doesn’t have it. “None of the durum varieties have this gene,”headded. “Wedon’t knowif it isnot in durum wheat because it hasn’t been bred in, or because it couldn’t be.” Common wheat varieties grown com- mercially in California generally already have this growthgene. But it is not present in any durumwheat varieties, which are often used tomake pasta. California farmers grow 25,000 acres of durumwheat,most of it soldat apremium to Italian pastamakers. Davis researchers are working to find out if the WAPO-A1 gene can be crossed into durumwheat. While thehighspikelet genehas thepo- tential to add as much as 300 pounds of yield per acre, it is not simply a matter of planting seedswithWAPO-A1andwaiting for the bounty, because even plants with higher number of grains do not produce more food unless they are provided with more resources.
“There’s no magic here,” Dubcovsky said. “You sti l l need to apply more water and more nitrogen if you want higher yield. The gene Saarah discov- ered does not increase yield if you have a bad background. When we terminate water early, the 300-pound bonus goes
down to 80 pounds.” Perhaps the greatest impact globally could come from crossing the high-yield gene intovarieties thathaveevolvedlocally without the benefit of research and delib- erate breeding for desired traits. Researchers screen these wheat culti-
Irrigation conference set for Sacramento “Water for a Sustainable California” is the theme for the 60th annual California Irrigation Institute conference, sched- uled for Feb. 28-March 1 in Sacramento. Described as the state’s oldest and longest-running forum on irrigation and water, the event features discus- sions including water-use efficiency, water quality, and management of sur- face and groundwater. The conference includes breakout ses- sions focused on agricultural or urban water management issues, plus gener- al sessions on topics including strate- gic implementation of the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act. Agricultural breakout sessions include perspectives of the StateWater Resources Control Board, farmers, University of California Cooperative Extension and the California Farm Bureau. California FarmBureauDirector ofWater Resources Danny Merkley, an Irrigation Institute board member, will speak at the event. State Water Resources Control Board Chairman Joaquin Esquivel will deliver the keynote address. The conference will be held at the Sacramento Arden-West Hilton, 2200 Harvard St., Sacramento. Two-day regis- tration costs $275; one-day registration costs $225. For more information, see www.caii.org/.
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8 Ag Alert February 16, 2022
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