stopped selecting material that didn't have resistance because the market demands it." "SCN is not in every county of Ontario," he adds. "But it is in enough counties of my target region that I cannot afford not to include that trait in the new cultivars." Rajcan's program is also working diligently on developing cultivars with white mould resistance. "It's a difficult target because white mould is sporadic," he says. "When it comes, it can hit the crop hard and causemajor yield losses, especially in susceptible cultivars." To address this issue, graduate student Deus Mugabe, under the supervision of Rajcan, is evaluating the genetic causes for white mould resistance in Ontario soybeans. Mugabe has evaluated the population by inoculation and isolating DNA from the population. The isolated DNA has been sent for genotyping. "When we get that genetic data back, we will be able to put it together with phenotypic data for resistance and identify the genetic loci or quantitative trait loci that are causing resistance," Rajcan explains. "So, in the future, we can select for resistance in the lab without having to expose the material always to the fungus." Another aspect of the project is increasing the diversity of soybean varieties. To do this, Rajcan is crossing elite Canadian germplasm with modern Chinese genetics. "The genetics of North American soybeans is known to be narrow," he explains. "By crossing with Chinese cultivars, we're trying to incorporate new yield, seed quality, and resistance genes into the breeding program." "There's a constant concern by breeders that a narrowing of the genetic diversity in a ONTARIO GRAIN FARMER 17 FEBRUARY 2023 These research projects received funding from Grain Farmers of Ontario. genetic pool may lead to a plateau in breeding, which means we keep doing the same thing, but there's no more increase in yield in the progeny," he adds. That has not happened so far, but Rajcan says he wants to be proactive. Rajcan's breeding program recently released several new cultivars that show great promise. Two of note include OAC Kamran, suitable for Maturity group 0, and OAC Aberdeen, suitable for Maturity Group 1. Both are SCN-resistant and high yielding and offer high protein. Dr. Yan’s oat breeding program at AAFC Ottawa and Dr. Rajcan’s soybean breeding program at the University of Guelph are funded in part by the Government of Canada under the Canadian Agricultural Partnership’s AgriScience Program, a federal, provincial, and territorial initiative. l CropBooster® Oligo® Prime and RR SoyBooster® Oligo® Prime in corn, soybean and wheat crops Agro-100 has conducted over 100 trials to confirm the value of its newOligo® Prime technology. In corn, average yield increases were greater than 9 bu/acre. Talk to your Agro-100 representative or Ag retailer. 1 866 770.8887 • www.agro-100.com download the Agro100 application for free today! Proven Biostimulant Tank Mix Program now activated by Oligo® Prime YEARS ® agro_agrofoliaires_thirdH_CropBoosterOP_03.indd 1 2022-12-21 11:02
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