How Our Cultivars Are Shaping Smarter Farming
At Western Crop Innovations (WCI), we understand the importance of advancing agricultural technology to meet these challenges. Our breeding programs focus on developing cultivars that not only have improved resistance to disease and stress but are also capable of thriving in less-than-ideal conditions. This scientific advancement leads to resilient varieties with decreased production costs and enhanced environmental sustainability.
How Our Varieties Boost Farm Efficiency
Choosing WCI varieties means investing in advanced agricultural technology. Our cultivars are designed to make farming more efficient and cost-effective. These innovations enable farmers to achieve higher yields, contributing to a more robust and economically sustainable agricultural business.
Collaboration and Progress
We pride ourselves on collaboration with other research and breeding centers, recognizing that progress in agricultural science is a collective effort. Together, we are setting new standards in the industry, continuously pushing the boundaries of what’s possible through cutting-edge technology.
GROW MORE WITH OUR CROP INNOVATIONS
Increased Crop Yield
Boost your farm’s output with our high-yield varieties, designed for stability across diverse conditions and to significantly increase profitability.
Enhanced Disease Resistance
Fortify your production with our varieties that offer improved disease resistance, which minimize losses.
Superior Crop Quality
Elevate marketability with our premium varieties, perfect for various applications and ensuring higher consumer satisfaction.
ENHANCING AGRONOMIC OUTCOMES WITH INNOVATIVE CROP VARIETIES
At WCI we’re dedicated to developing feed and forage barley, malting barley, and triticale varieties specifically tailored for the western prairies.
Operating on a core land base of 400 acres in Lacombe, Alberta, our team of researchers is committed to achieving high yields, bolstering disease resistance, and ensuring superior end-use quality characteristics. To accomplish this we plant, maintain, and evaluate 40,000 plots annually across our facilities in Lacombe and other sites throughout Alberta in our pursuit of the next breakthrough variety.
Additionally, our network of collaborators and partners extends beyond Alberta, with testing conducted in various regions across Canada and internationally. This approach allows us to assess our varieties under diverse environmental conditions, ensuring their adaptability and performance across different agricultural landscapes.
Supported by in-house expertise in pathology, quality, and biotechnology, our breeding program utilizes cutting-edge technologies such as molecular markers and NIR (near-infrared) spectroscopy to efficiently identify the most exceptional materials in our breeding pipelines. Additionally, our pathology team diligently screens over 12,000 breeding lines in disease nurseries annually.
At WCI, we’re driven to deliver varieties that not only enhance environmental sustainability but also improve agronomic outcomes for producers, address industry concerns, and meet market needs.
BARLEY BREEDING
Feed and Forage
Our feed program is dedicated to developing high-yield barley varieties that significantly boost grain production across Alberta. We focus on enhancing forage quality and yields for silage and grazing, emphasizing early maturity, lodging resistance, and excellent grain and biomass characteristics. Our breeding strategy now includes optimizing nitrogen use efficiency to improve environmental sustainability. Additionally, our cultivars are developed to exhibit robust disease resistance against priority-I diseases, including scald, blotches, smuts, rusts, and Fusarium Head Blight (FHB), ensuring resilient and productive crops.
Malt
Our malting barley pipeline produces premium two-row barley varieties, tailored for high yields and exceptional adaptability to varying growing conditions. These varieties are designed to meet the exacting requirements of both the adjunct and craft beer markets. We now highlight traits such as non-glycosidic nitrile and lodging resistance, alongside our ongoing commitment to disease resistance and resilience to stresses like water scarcity, ensuring these cultivars perform optimally even in challenging environments.
TRITICALE BREEDING
Our breeding program develops new spring triticale varieties optimized for western Canada’s diverse climates. We focus on superior grain and forage yields with enhanced lodging resistance. Our efforts include producing awnless and reduced awn types for better digestibility and palatability in swath-grazing and green forage uses. We also prioritize improved drought tolerance, early maturity, reduced pre-harvest sprouting, and robust resistance to Fusarium Head Blight (FHB) and ergot.
Our breeding program develops new spring triticale varieties optimized for western Canada’s diverse climates. We focus on superior grain and forage yields with enhanced lodging resistance. Our efforts include producing awnless and reduced awn types for better digestibility and palatability in swath-grazing and green forage uses. We also prioritize improved drought tolerance, early maturity, reduced pre-harvest sprouting, and robust resistance to Fusarium Head Blight (FHB) and ergot.
Core Funding Provided By:
