August 4, 2000

The Future of Wheat Research...

By Mike Barnett
Editor

The easy problems in growing wheat have been solved. Now comes the hard part.

That was the message of Dr. Art Klatt, a professor of wheat breeding at Oklahoma State University, as he gazed into his crystal ball in an attempt to predict the future of wheat research in Texas.

Speaking at the crops field day recently at Bushland, Klatt reminded producers that 80 percent of the 6 million acres of wheat planted annually in Texas is grown on the High Plains and Rolling Plains. Also, he told producers that Texas varieties dominate Texas wheat production, mainly because of the ongoing research program in Texas.

“Now this type of research has to continue,” he said. “Wheat research must continue to produce new technology that will provide farmers alternatives in the future; alternatives that will not only give the farmer more production, but will also give farmers more profitability. And, in reality, we probably have to expand wheat research in the future, primarily because there are so many problems out there.”

Emphasis will continue on developing better disease resistance in wheat, Klatt said.

“The number one disease in my book is leaf rust,” he explained. “In our area of Oklahoma, leaf rust can be just devastating. As you get into the Rolling Plains and Central Texas, it’s also very devastating.”

Research to produce better drought and heat tolerance will also be a priority, as well as insect resistance, “not only for the greenbug but the Russian wheat aphid,” he said.

Development of dual purpose wheats, or wheats that are grazed in the fall and winter and then produce grain, should also be emphasized, Klatt said. However, he added, developing varieties might not be quite as important as fine tuning the management system itself: “How long to graze? When to put cattle on. When to take cattle off. How much extra fertilizer do you need when you graze the wheat? What other specific quirks are there in the system that can be improved to not only increase your forage production, but also to give you more grain in the end?”

Producing better industrial quality grain is another goal: “Right or wrong, I think Texas varieties have a reputation of not being very high quality for bread-making characteristics,” Klatt said. “I don’t think that’s particularly true, but I think that it’s something that needs to be changed and we need to have better quality wheats.”

Role of biotechnology
Klatt said conventional breeding will continue to play a vital role in the future development of new varieties. So will biotechnology.

“It’s a tool that breeders will need in order to increase their chances of getting better varieties in the future,” he said.

Biotechnology, he explained, will allow breeders to better identify certain traits in wheat. For example, it’s very difficult for breeders to select for barley yellow dwarf virus resistance. However, if a genetic marker can be found for that resistance, breeders can be assured that any new varieties developed would or would not contain that gene.

Other possibilities? Introduction of new genes from other species into the wheat plant.

“We’re all hearing about Round-Up Ready soybeans. I’m sure that Round-Up Ready wheat is not too far ahead. Resistance to other herbicides is probably around the corner,” he maintained.

Quality traits will be another focus of research. For example, researchers are currently working on a gene that improves the quality of dough, which tends to dry out when it is frozen. They’re also looking at new sources of insect and disease resistance, as well as frost and heat tolerance.

“The private sector is working extensively in trying to introduce these genes,” Klatt said.

White wheat
Another thing producers need to look forward to is white wheat. The reason? Countries the U.S. exports to want it.

“And if we can give them white kernels, they will buy less wheat from Australia and other countries that produce white kernels.”

There are a couple of problems, however. White wheats in this country don’t yield as well as red wheats. They don’t have the disease resistance. And quality characteristics will have to be improved to meet the requirements of customers.

“We’re going to see more and more of that in the future, where the buyer is dictating the quality they want...be it bread quality, protein quality, or the quality of white wheat,” the wheat researcher said.