Wheat Genetics & Breeding for Canada
We are the Cereal Breeding Lab! Our research fields are at the Edmonton Research Station located in the heart of the city on the University of Alberta’s South Campus in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
The Cereal Breeding Lab (CBL) breeds varieties which are inspired by Canadian producers. We work with various organizations for varietal innovation, agricultural research, and education to expand our relationships with people, food and the environment.
Welcome to CBL!
The University of Alberta’s Cereal Breeding Lab is led by Professor Dr. Gurcharn Singh Brar. We focus on wheat variety development for the wheat producers of the western Canadian Prairie provinces. The main breeding objectives are to develop wheat with improved grain yield, reduced plant height and lodging, early maturity, suitable end-use quality, and resistance to the five priority 1 diseases, including leaf, stem, and stripe rusts, common bunt, and Fusarium head blight (FHB), to maximize the profits of the wheat industry.
Varietal Development
We use a combination of conventional (modified pedigree, single seed descent, shuttle breeding) and modern (doubled haploids, marker-assisted selection, genomic selection) techniques to speed up line development and improve the efficiency of selection in the varietal development process.
Over the last 15 years, we have developed 20 wheat varieties that meet the agronomic, disease resistance, and end-use quality requirements of wheat market classes grown in western Canada. Notably, we have developed two of the earliest maturing (Go Early, Parata) and one of the highest yielding (Alotta) wheat varieties in western Canada.
Join Our Team!
We are focused on training the next generation of crop researchers, scientists and professionals. We want to be a part of your journey!