Grants and Contributions:
Grant or Award spanning more than one fiscal year (2017-2018 to 2020-2021).
There is a need to develop new and revised agronomic management tools to match the genetic abilities of the Hard Red Spring wheat cultivars which are currently grown in Alberta and help direct future breeding efforts to maximize yield potential which is influenced by genotype x environment x management factors. The overall objective of this project is to further develop the use of the plant growth regulator class, auxins, as a tool to increase wheat grain yield grown under non-stress and abiotic stress conditions. Specifically, the proposed research will provide a more detailed understanding of the fundamental factors associated with auxin responsiveness in wheat. By determining the traits that lead to increased auxin response (with respect to increasing yield) in wheat, and characterizing how these traits are affected by abiotic stress we can provide a novel option to producers for increasing wheat grain yield. In practice, if producers know which cultivars are auxin responsive, then they can target the use of this yield enhancing promoter to these cultivars and improve the profitability of their operation.