About the Program Wheat Breeding and Genetics Program Soil and Crop Sciences Department Colorado State University Fort Collins, CO 80523

The Colorado State University (CSU) Wheat Breeding and Genetics Program conducts basic and applied research focused on the development of improved cultivars and germplasm with specific adaptation in the central High Plains region of the Great Plains. Since inception of breeding efforts in 1963, research conducted has resulted in the development and release of many winter wheat cultivars for producers in Colorado.

A large component of the overall breeding effort in recent years has been directed toward rapid deployment of genetic resistance to the Russian wheat aphid (RWA), an insect pest against against which resistance was unavailable at the time of its introduction in 1986. Since 1994, six improved cultivars (Halt, Yumar, Prowers, Prairie Red, Prowers 99, and Ankor) carrying resistance to RWA have been released by CSU through the partnership with the Colorado Wheat Administrative Committee (CWAC) and the Colorado Wheat Research Foundation (CWRF). Recently, breeding efforts focused toward development of hard white winter wheat varieties and varieties that carry a proprietary source of nontransgenic herbicide tolerance have resulted in the release of new varieties that are also being handled through the CSU/CWRF release mechanism. These include Avalanche hard white wheat and Above Clearfield* wheat.

Wheat breeding research at CSU relies on various field, greenhouse, and laboratory facilities to accomplish the program objectives. A critical component of this effort is the partnership that exists between the CSU Agricultural Experiment Station and the various seed industry and wheat commodity groups in Colorado, including the Colorado Seed Growers Association, the Colorado Wheat Administrative Committee, and the Colorado Wheat Research Foundation. Without the excellent support of each of these groups, wheat breeding research at CSU would not be possible.

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