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Ontario Grain Farmer Magazine

CFCRA Soybean Cluster; Activity 11: Ultra early herbicide tolerant soybean

Principal Investigator: Elroy Cober
Research Institution: Ottawa Research & Development Centre, Agriculture & Agri-Food Canada
Project Start: April 2018
Project End: March 2023

Funding Partners: 
Funding for the Soybean Cluster is provided by the Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada AgriScience Program through the Canadian Agricultural Partnership, with industry support from the Canadian Field Crop Research Alliance (CFCRA) whose members include: Atlantic Grains Council; Producteurs de grains du Quebec; Grain Farmers of Ontario; Manitoba Corn Growers Association; Manitoba Pulse & Soybean Growers; Saskatchewan Pulse Growers; Prairie Oat Growers Association; SeCan; and FP Genetics.

Objectives: 

  • Develop very early-maturing, high-yield RR2Xtend soybean populations, experimental lines and cultivars adapted to MG 00 and earlier areas through a targeted breeding program
  • Develop and validate markers for new-found maturity genes and integrate them with existing markers

Impact: 

  • This project will deliver cultivars adapted to the very short season areas of Canada.
  • Producers will benefit from the use of adapted cultivars.  Additionally, germplasm that is developed can be used as future parents as the soybean industry expands in the region.
  • The development of very early maturity soybeans will allow for the expansion of soybean into short season areas of Canada.
  • The development of molecular markers targeting early maturity may lead to a better understanding of mechanisms conferring early maturity and allow for rapid breeding of adapted soybean varieties.

Activity Summary:
This activity focuses on developing early maturity cultivars for Western Canada to identify and validate early maturing genes useful to breeders to improve yield.  This activity will deliver herbicide-tolerant genetically modified (GM) cultivars adapted to the very short season areas of Canada (Maturity Groups 00-000).