For many Canadian wheat researchers, it's their "ace in the hole" for winning the fight against common wheat production problems - a partnership with the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Centre (CIMMYT) in Mexico.

The Centre, which has long shared genetic resources with Canadian breeding programs, is now playing a key role in helping the University of Alberta (U of A) develop varieties with earlier maturity for northern areas. The U of A wheat germplasm development program is supported in part by farmers through the Wheat Check-off Fund, administered by Western Grains Research Foundation (WGRF).

"We're working with a large bank of CIMMYT wheat lines that have shown early maturity," says Dr. Dean Spaner, U of A wheat breeder. "These lines will provide an infusion of genetics to incorporate into our wheat material, which will mean earlier maturing varieties to benefit western Canadian producers in areas with shorter growing seasons."

This summer, researchers conducted trials using upwards of 180 lines of CIMMYT origin. The trials, which included components at the U of A farm and at Alberta Agriculture, Food and Rural Development (AAFRD) in Lacombe, allowed researchers to evaluate the genetics of earliness in relation to yielding ability and the quality of wheat, says Spaner.

The researchers used the material in broader U of A selections for yield, earliness, lodging, shattering tolerance and quality. The best of these selections, along with CIMMYT-derived material selected for earliness in 2001 to 2003, have been sent to pre-co-op tests and could result in varieties available to farmers over the next three to five years.

"The material we're working with now shows one to five days of earlier maturity compared to today's popular varieties, which may be a significant advantage for producers managing within a short growing season," says Spaner. "The difficulty will be to get that maturity in a solid overall package of traits, so growers don't have to compromise on characteristics like yield and quality."

CIMMYT, which has a global mandate to conduct maize and wheat research to benefit developing countries, is recognized as one of the world's premier developers of wheat germplasm. Other WGRF-supported western Canadian wheat breeding institutions working closely with CIMMYT include AAFRD Lacombe, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada and the University of Saskatchewan's Crop Development Centre.

"As Canadian wheat breeders, we have a strong reputation for wheat development, but our continued success depends on sharing germplasm sources both at home and abroad," says Spaner. "It's the only way to get the varied genetic resources you need to be successful. That's why we're very fortunate to have partners like CIMMYT and other colleagues in Canada and internationally."

Germplasm as a term is used when talking about the specific genetics contained in wheat plants. Wheat breeders often refer to the pool of germplasm from which they stitch together traits into strong overall varieties suitable for commercial production.

As opposed to cultivar development programs, germplasm development programs focus more on finding and improving individual traits in experimental lines rather than on developing complete varieties. Improved germplasm is then used by breeders as crucial source material. "The bigger and better the germplasm pool, the greater your chances for a successful variety," says Spaner.

Traditionally, advances in early maturity have come at the cost of yield, since maturity and yield tend to be inversely related. However, years of germplasm development work by the U of A program and others has led to significant improvements for both traits in the same wheat germplasm, which can be used to develop varieties that feature these dual benefits.

The producer-funded Wheat Check-off Fund, administered by WGRF, allocates more than $3 million annually to wheat breeding research in Western Canada.