Prairie Grain Development Committee

The Prairie Grain Development Committee (PGDC), formerly known as the Prairie Registration Recommending Committee for Grain (PRRCG), is a forum for the exchange of information relevant to the development of improved cultivars of grain crops for the western Canadian prairies.

The PGDC recently organized the 2008 annual meeting of the Prairie Grain Recommending Committees, while providing an opportunity for scientific discussion and communication of research priorities for the improvement of the prairie grain sector. Attendance at the 2009 PGDC was above expectations at 240 attendees, especially given that 2009 was the first year that the Western Canada Canola/Rapeseed Recommending Committee did not meet at the same time as PGDC.

The four independent Recommending Committees that met are responsible for the testing, evaluation, and recommending of grain crop candidate cultivars for registration in Western Canada.

The Prairie Recommending Committee for Wheat, Rye and Triticale (PRCWRT) evaluates candidate cultivars of wheat, rye and triticale and, upon the request of the owner or designate, makes recommendations to the Variety Registration Office, Canadian Food Inspection Agency regarding the suitability of the candidate for registration.

The Prairie Recommending Committee for Oat and Barley (PRCOB) is responsible for the testing and evaluation of barley and oat candidate cultivars and for making recommendations to the Variety Registration Office of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency for their registration in western Canada.

The Prairie Recommending Committee for Pulse and Special Crops (PRCPSC) is responsible for the testing and evaluation of pulse and special crop candidate cultivars for registration in western Canada.

The Prairie Recommending Committee for Oilseeds (PRCO) is responsible for the testing and evaluation of candidate cultivars of condiment mustard (yellow, oriental and brown types) and flax, for registration in Canada.

The 2009 annual meeting was held in Banff, Alberta from Tuesday, February 24 to Thursday, February 26, 2009, during which the respective Recommending Committees evaluated candidate cultivars based on agronomic, quality, and disease resistance criteria.

The Prairie Recommending Committee for Wheat, Rye and Triticale (PRCWRT) recommended 20 new cultivars for registration at the 2009 meetings: nine Canada Western Red Spring wheat cultivars; five Canada Western General Purpose cultivars of which three were winter wheats; one Canada Western Amber Durum cultivar; one Canada Prairie Spring Red wheat cultivar, and one spring spelt wheat cultivar. In addition, Snowstar, a Canada Western Hard White Spring wheat was approved to move from interim to full registration, and two Canada Prairie Spring White wheat lines (Snowhite476 and Snowhite476) were granted an additional two years of interim registration to allow removal of seed and grain stocks. Highlights for the recommended cultivars included increased yield potential, early maturity, improved disease resistance including fusarium head blight and leaf spotting resistance, orange wheat blossom midge resistance, and resistance to Clearfield herbicides.

The Prairie Recommending Committee for Oat and Barley (PRCOB) recommended for registration: one spring oat cultivar; one forage barley cultivar; two hulless barley cultivars; three two-row hulled barley cultivars; and three six-row hulled barley cultivars. Highlights for these recommended cultivars include increased yield potential and straw strength, good malting profiles, and resistance to one or more of the following diseases: stem rust, smuts, spot blotch, net blotch, and common root rot.

The Prairie Recommending Committee for Pulse and Special Crops (PRCPSC) recommended for registration: 13 dry bean cultivars; two fababean cultivars; seven lentil cultivars; and four pea cultivars. The breeding programs involved in bringing forward these new cultivars for support for registration continue to make strides in terms of increased yield potential, lodging resistance, new classes of lentils with tolerance to the imidazolinone herbicides and improved disease tolerance. The committee continues to work toward openness and transparency by encouraging producer groups like the Manitoba Buckwheat Growers Association and the Canaryseed Association of Canada to become active participants. The Prairie Grain Development Committee (PGDC) website is also being used to release information from the annual meetings.

The Prairie Recommending Committee for Oilseeds (PRCO) recommended for registration one linseed flax line. Highlights for this recommended line include significantly higher seed yield than the check cultivar Flanders in the Brown Soil Zone and similar seed yield to the check in the other zones, significantly higher seed weight than Flanders, immunity to rust and moderate resistance to Fusarium wilt.

In addition, to the deliberations of the four Recommending Committees, the PGDC organizes a Plenary Session to feature topics of interest to members of the PGDC. For the 2009 PGDC meeting the Plenary Session featured speakers covering future concerns, challenges and opportunities facing the agricultural sector from a range of different perspectives. The speakers included:

1. Agricultural Challenges in 21st Century - International Trends & Developments, Dr. Don Smith, James McGill Professor and Chair, Department of Plant Science, McGill University, Ste. Anne de Bellevue, Quebec;
2. Potential Biotic Threats to the Prairie Ecoregion and the Impact of Climate Change, Ross Weiss, M.Sc., Entomologist, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Saskatoon Research Centre, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan;
3. A Hands-On Perspective of Challenges Faced by Producers and Industry and the Potential Role of Crop Varieties, Mr. Dan Orchard, Agronomist, Sturgeon Valley Fertilizers, St. Albert, Alberta;
4. The Role of Agronomics in Relation to Meeting Current and Future Agricultural and Cropping Systems Challenges, Dr. John O'Donovan, Research Agronomist, Lacombe Research Centre, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Lacombe, Alberta, and
5. The Role of Breeding and Biotechnology in Relation to Meeting Current and Future Agricultural and Cropping Systems Challenges, Dr. Brian Rossnagel, Barley and Oat Breeder, Crop Development Centre, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.

(Additional information can be found on the Annual Plenary Sessions page.)

More information on the PGDC and the candidate cultivars that were recommended at the 2009 meeting can be found on this site and by contacting members of the Prairie Grain Development Committee Executive and respective Recommending Committee Chairs and Secretaries.