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  3. Current Research Projects

Current Research Projects

FY 2022 Research Projects

Support for HPI to Advance Isolated Microspore Culture as a primary method of producing Wheat Doubled Haploids, Heartland Plant Innovations - $50,000

Isolated Microspore Culture (IMC) is an effective and efficient way of producing Doubled Haploids in many
cereal species. Over the past couple of years, HPI has dabbled in this area and conducted IMC experiments in wheat. Other than this limited effort, little research has been conducted on using this method for wheat in a commercial system. The ability to use IMC as a production method will reduce the time and cost of producing wheat DHs. Compared to current corn pollination used today, the tedious and time-consuming steps of emasculation, pollination and hormonal treatment will no longer be needed. In addition, the time required to produce DH lines in winter wheat will be significantly reduced – 9 months for IMC compared to 12-15 months for the corn pollination method.

Implementation of Advanced Breeding Technologies, Allan Fritz - $50,000

Implement new, techology-based approaches to improve genetic gain in wheat for yield, disease resistance and quality. Continue the use of DH technology to speed variety development. Implement "Rapid Cycling" approaches that complement the DH program and provide similar enhancements in genetic gain. Explore Genomic Assisted Recurrent Selection (GARS).

Improvement of Hard Winter Wheat for Kansas, Allan Fritz - $279,720

Identifying and validating QTLs for the Improvement of Wheat Heat Tolerance in Kansas, Jianming Fu - $5,000

Evaluation of wheat germplasm and (EMS) mutant lines for herbicide tolerance, Mithila Jugulam - $60,000

Biology and Management of Feral Rye in Kansas Wheat Production, Viipan Kumar - $19,145

  • K-State research details herbicide options for wheat growers to manage feral rye

KS Wheat Quality Lab, Yonghui Li - $100,660

Kansas Yield-Enhancing Strategies (KYES): III. Boots on the Ground: Ground-Truth of Results from On-Farm Survey, Romulo Lollato - $59,452

  • K-State study demonstrates how fungicide applications boost wheat yields

Forecasting Wheat Yield at Field-Scale Based on Satellite Imagery and Understanding the Physiological Basis for wheat response to N and Fungicide Management in Kansas, Romulo Lollato - $45,076

K-State Wheat Extension Program: Extension Publications and General Extension Activities, Romulo Lollato - $60,000

Diversity, Molecular Diagnosis, and Management of Common Bunt of Wheat in the Great Plains, Kelsey Andersen Onofre - $69,200

Disease Phenotyping: Determining the Reaction of Wheat Lines to Important Diseases, Jessica Rupp - $41,204

Biotech approaches for trait enhancement in wheat, Harold Trick - $50,204

Development of New Hard Red and Hard White Winter Wheat Varieties with Improved Levels of Disease Resistance for Western Kansas, Guorong Zhang - $188,000

  • Kansas Wheat research project advances two lines for potential 2022 release

Wheat Genetic Resource Center: National Science Foundation Industry-University Cooperative Research Center

  • K-State: Wheat genomics discoveries have the potential to improve bread quality

FY 2020 Research Projects

Kansas Wheat Commission FY 2020 Funded Research Projects

Wheat Gene Editing, Eduard Akhunov - $102,620

The existing KSU expertise and infrastructure in wheat genetics, genomics, breeding, wheat transformation and next-generation sequencing provide us unique opportunity to establish the Wheat Gene Editing Platform (WGEP) for targeted engineering of the wheat genome using GE technologies. The WGEP will be used as vehicle for creating novel genetic variation in the Kansas breeding programs by modifying genes controlling major agronomic traits in wheat including but not limited to yield, resistance to pests and pathogens, drought and heat tolerance, end-use and nutritional quality. The WGEP will interact with the public and private wheat breeders and geneticists to devise and implement GE strategies on the traits of interest.

Chromosome Engineering for BYD Germplasm, Bernd Friebe - $41,200

This research is aimed at identifying and evaluating novel sources for BYDV resistance and transfer them into adapted Kansas winter wheat cultivars. So far, only three genes conferring resistance to BYDV have been named (reviewed by Zhang et al. 2009).

Hard Red Winter Wheat Breeding Program, Allan Fritz - $284,604

The primary goal of the program remains to provide commercially relevant wheat varieties to the Kansas wheat industry. The primary focus is on development of hard red winter wheats, with a smaller focus on hard white wheat. An increased focus has been placed on developing quality traits that have the potential to add value for both producers and the industry.

Implementation of Advanced Breeding Technologies, Allan Fritz - $50,000

Objectives: The overarching goal of this work is to implement new, technology‐based approaches to improve genetic gain in wheat for yield, disease resistance and quality.

Identifying QTLs for Heat Tolerance in Wheat, Jianming Fu - $5,000

An effective and pragmatic way for mitigating heat stress damage is to develop tolerant varieties. However, the progress for developing heat-tolerant varieties has been very slow. So far, to the best of our knowledge, no heat-tolerant wheat variety has been developed and released to the farmers in the Great Plains. Applying marker-assisted selection can expedite the breeding process for developing heat-tolerant varieties. Identifying and validating quantitative trait loci (QTLs) is required for developing breeder-friendly markers. Near-isogenic lines (NILs) are excellent materials for validating QTLs.

Biology and Management of Feral Rye, Vipan Kumar - $19,075

Growers mainly rely on herbicide-tolerant (HT) wheat technologies for managing winter annual grassy weeds, including feral rye. However, the response of Kansas feral rye populations to Beyond® and Aggressor™ herbicides is unknown and need to be determined. In addition to information leading to its control, this research would also help in explaining the mechanisms required for feral rye to succeed as a weed in a given agroecosystem.

KS Wheat Quality Lab, Yonghui Li - $98,415

Molecular Mapping of Yellow Rust Resistance, Sanzhen Liu - $39,500

Stripe rust poses a serious threat to wheat production nationwide and it continues to be identified
across counties in Kansas in recent years. We propose to identify stripe rust resistant genetic
components to breed resistant wheat varieties.

Kansas Yield-Enhancing Strategies, Romulo Lollato - $59,452

The overall objective of this proposal is to identify management practices leading to increased grain yields and improved quality in Kansas wheat production using both small plot research and survey of management practices across commercial Kansas wheat fields.

Forecasting Yield Based on Satellite Images/Spring Wheat Research, Lollato - $44,576

Here, we propose two projects into one proposal. The overall objective of each project is to:

Develop empirical models using satellite images collected during the winter wheat growing season to forecast wheat yield using a large database of farmer-reported wheat yields during the 2016, 2017, and 2018 wheat harvest seasons; and
Quantify the yield drag in spring wheats in Kansas when compared to winter wheats, also characterizing the differences in grain protein accumulation between both wheat types.

K-State Wheat Extension Program, Publications and Activities, Lollato - $10,000

Improving Wheat Quality with Balanced Sulfur and Nitrogen Management, Nathan Nelson - $68,391

The goal of this study is to improve the yield and quality of hard red winter wheat in Kansas with balanced sulfur and nitrogen fertilization.

Understanding Interactions of the Wheat Virome, Mite Vector Genome and Wheat Cultivar Composition, Shahideh Nouri - $55,636

Objectives:

Survey selected sites in Kansas wheat production areas to determine the composition of the wheat virome (WSMV, WMoV, TriMV, unknown viruses), and the biotype composition of the wheat curl mite vector.
Determine if wheat varieties at each site contain resistance to virus or mites.

Innovative Approaches to Diminish BYD Epidemics in Kansas Wheat, Jesse Poland - $33,910

Objectives:
1. Identify and characterize new and existing sources of resistance/tolerance to barley yellow dwarf (BYD) (SCREENING, BREEDING and GENETICS)
2. Explore predictors of disease incidence using a master database and monitor BYD virus populations and disease incidence across the state with on‐line mapping tools. (MODELING & MAPPING)

Disease Phenotyping: Determining the Reaction of Wheat lines to Important Diseases, Jessica Rupp - $33,910.

Determine the reaction of wheat breeding lines and commercial wheat cultivars to various diseases.

Biotech Approaches for Trait Enhancement in Wheat, Harold Trick - $50,000

Evaluate transgenic lines for controlling wheat viruses and begin CRISPR-Cas9 targeted mutation of wheat genes the virus needs to replicate.

Hard Red and White Winter Variety Development, Guorong Zhang - $142,000

Development of competitive hard red and hard white winter wheat varieties with the adaption to the semi-arid area in Western Kansas.

Previous Projects

  • Improvement of Hard Red Winter Wheat for Kansas [Fritz]
    • Wheat breeding program
  • Integrative and Innovative Approaches to Diminish Barley Yellow Dwarf Epidemics in Kansas Wheat [Rotenberg]
  • Development of New Hard Red and Hard White Winter Wheat Varieties with Improved Levels of Disease Resistance for Western Kansas [Zhang]
    • The long and short of wheat breeding in Hays
  • Developing Celiac-Safe Wheat [Miller, C]
    • Not Gluten Free, But Celiac Safe
  • Kansas Wheat Quality Lab: KAES Wheat Breeding Quality Evaluation Program [Miller, R]
    • Kansas Wheat Quality Lab
  • Whole exome re-sequencing of grass species valuable for wheat breeding in Kansas [Akhunov]
    • Mapping wheat ancesters' genomes to implement valuable traits
  • Implementation of Advanced Breeding Technologies [Fritz]
    • Mixing experience and technology results in better wheat varieties for Kansas farmers
  • Small Plot Research for Wheat Genetics at KSU [Poland]
  • Impact of Temperature on Genetic Resistance to Hessian fly, Wheat Curl Mite and Russian Wheat Aphid [Smith]
    • Is Temperature Changing Genetic Resistance to Pests?
  • Wheat Genetics and Genomics Resource Center (WGGRC) and its contributions to Kansas 
  • Strategies to Develop Wheat Genotypes to Beat Post-Flowering Heat and Drought Stress [Jagadish]
    • Wheat Olympics; A test of endurance
  • Chromosome Engineering and Development of Wheat Germplasm Resistant to Barley Yellow Dwarf Virus [Friebe]
    • Engineering Resistance to Beat the Bugs
  • Wheat Nutrient Uptake and Partitioning as Affected by Era of Variety Release and Balanced Nutrition [Lollato]
    • Researchers compare nutrient update in modern and historic wheat varieties
  • Pyramiding Wheat Streak Mosaic Virus Resistance Genes and Development of High Temperature Resistance [Zhang]
  • Transgenic Approaches for Trait Enhancement in Wheat [Trick]
    • K-State researchers develop heat-tolerant wheat gene
    • Shutting it Down
  • Disease Phenotyping: Determining the Reaction of Wheat Lines to Important Diseases [DeWolf]
    • High Tech; High Efficiency
  • K-State Wheat Extension Program: Wheat Management by Growth State Guide and General Extension Activities [Lollato]
  • Kansas Yield-Enhancing Strategies (KYES), The Partial Contribution of Management Practices [Lollato]
    • Researchers look for strategies to reduce wheat yield gap
  • Kansas Wheat Quality Lab: KAES Wheat Breeding Quality Evaluation Program 2016 [Miller, R]
  • Preferred Hard Red Winter Wheat Varieties for Kansas 2015: Milling and Bread Baking Quality Rankings (pdf file)
  • High-Throughput Phenotyping for Wheat Breeding and Genetics Using Unmanned Aerial Vehicles
  • Sensing heat tolerance from canopy images in wheat and related species
  • Germplasm Screening for Wheat Triticum Mosaic Virus Resistance
  • Applying Genomic Selection in KSU Wheat Breeding Programs
  • Germplasm Development Using Wild Relatives of Wheat
  • Generic Characterization of Wheat Streak Mosaic Virust Resistance at High Temperature

News/Projects

  • Current research projects
  • Disease Phenotyping
  • Celiac Safe Wheat


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1990 Kimball Avenue, Manhattan KS 66502

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