Researchers work to improve disease resistance in flax
Crop diseases are an annual concern for flax production in Canada.
Pasmo, powdery mildew and fusarium wilt are prevalent fungal diseases reduce yields farmers see in their flax crop.
Managing diseases in flax is not easy with options being genetic resistance and fungicides. The most common approach is through the application of fungicides.
“Producers will spend quite a bit of money for fungicide applications, which will increase production costs,” says Bunyamin Tar’an, the interim flax breeder at the University of Saskatchewan’s Crop Development Centre.
Tar’an is continuing the work to find long-term solution to improve resistance to the diseases. “This is the best approach because it will be economical and reduce the fungicide application,” he says.
Tar’an is currently leading a project under the Diverse Field Crops Cluster designed to identify genetic markers for disease resistance in flax. The research is being done in collaboration with scientists from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s (AAFC) Ottawa Research & Development Centre (ORDC) led by Drs. Sylvie Cloutier and Frank You.
By 2023, Tar’an and the team hope to generate enough useful data so that flax breeders can begin to develop disease resistant varieties.
“The end goal is to identify the genetic source and tools for selection for disease resistance that can be used in a breeding program,” explains Tar’an.
It’s a complex project. Tar’an and the research team have their work cut out for them.
“The source for resistance is complicated to determine in the flax germplasm right now,” says Tar’an. So, his team will need to catalogue an impressive amount of both genetic and phenotypic (physical characteristics) data before they can link the plant’s DNA to disease resistance traits.
To achieve their goal, they began selecting flax varieties likely to have some level of inherent resistance to either pasmo, powdery mildew or fusarium wilt. To get good disease data, the plant populations were screened in appropriate disease nurseries including the nurseries at AAFC RDCs in Morden, MB and Charlottetown, PEI. Tar’an says they have been able to identify lines as potential sources for disease resistance – a promising start to the project.
Now, they can begin putting the puzzle together.
The selected parent lines are currently being grown in ongoing nursery trials. When a plant shows resistance to one of the diseases, the research team from AAFC-ORDC work to uncover the DNA sequence and identify which part of that plant’s DNA is contributing to resistance. With this information the genetic marker can be identified.
The genetic markers can be used as a selection tool for developing new flax varieties.
“If you can narrow down a population based on their genetic makeup, that will speed up the breeding process,” says Tar’an. “It allows flax breeders to select a very specific part of the DNA that confirms disease resistance and then they can continue selection for other traits.”
From expanded scientific knowledge on fungal diseases to advanced breeding program tools and improving variety options for growers, results of this research project are expected to advance Canadian flax production.
Written by Janna Moats
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This DFCC activity is led by SaskFlax with funding from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s Canadian Agricultural Partnership program and SaskFlax.
The Diverse Field Crops Cluster (DFCC) is a unique alliance of industry partners: Canadian Hemp Trade Alliance, Canary Seed Development Commission of Saskatchewan, Saskatchewan Flax Development Commission, Smart Earth Camelina Corporation, Manitoba Crop Alliance, Mustard 21 Canada Inc, and Northern Quinoa Production Corporation. DFCC aligns industry and research stakeholders to seize market opportunities and accelerate the acreage and market returns of special crops. Ag-West Bio leads this five-year research cluster which is funded by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s Canadian Agricultural Partnership program and industry partners.