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Helen Booker
Winter wheat yield trials planted Fall 2021 at Elora Research Station, Elora, ON, Canada
Program
About your research...
I am a plant breeder, my current program focuses on winter wheat cultivar development for production in Ontario. The wheat program research centers on germplasm, trait development and inheritance of crop characteristics. This includes identifying genic regions associated with traits such as disease resistance to improve selection efficiency.
How does your research help to "Improve Life"?
Canada is a major global producer of wheat with the majority of the winter wheat crop being produced in Ontario. Long term rotation studies at the University of Guelph demonstrate that inclusion of winter wheat in the crop rotation improves soil health and yield in subsequent corn and soybean crops. The wheat breeding and genetics program focuses on the biotic and abiotic factors that threaten the high productivity and quality of the winter wheat crop.