Friday, May 6, 2022
CapitalPress.com 13
Wheat: ‘We have made a step forward’
Continued from Page 1
Dubcovsky leads the
research for WheatCAP, a
consortium of 41 breeders
and researchers at 22 institu-
tions in 20 states.
Researchers have identi-
fied most of the genes that
contribute to a good bread,
including protein, loaf vol-
ume and uniformity, and use
molecular markers to select
for those traits.
Has he finally cracked the
trait?
“I think we have cracked
the easier part of this diffi-
cult problem,” he said with
a chuckle.
Gary
Bailey
How it works
In the future, farmers
holding a new variety of
wheat in their hands won’t
see any difference from
today’s wheat, Dubcovsky
said.
But “if you look at the
end of the spike, you have
one more spikelet at the
end,” he said.
The plant’s genes deter-
mine when to stop produc-
ing those spikelets, which
hold the grain, he explained.
Researchers want to enable
the plant to produce spike-
lets a little bit longer.
The newly discovered
gene, designated WAPO1,
controls the maximum num-
ber of grains in a wheat
spike. Breeding it into plants
could make room for more
grains to grow in each spike
by delaying formation of the
terminal spikelet.
“The only thing you will
notice is that a spike will be
a little bit longer and have
more of those spikelets on
the side,” he said.
Step by step
At its core, yield is mea-
sured by the number of
wheat spikes per square
foot of land, multiplied by
the number of grains each
spike has, multiplied by the
weight of each grain, Dub-
covsky said.
“One of those compo-
nents, the number of grains,
is a little bit easier to do
genetics with,” he said.
Researchers have identi-
fied several genes that con-
trol the weight of grains, he
said.
But a plant with more
grains has to produce enough
starch to fill them, or else
farmers will end up with more
but smaller grains, and a plant
producing the same yield.
Joel Mackendorf/UC-Davis
University of California-Davis wheat breeder Jorge
Dubcovsky recently identified the WAPO1 gene, which
controls the maximum number of grains in a wheat
spike and could help researchers and farmers boost
yields by 5%.
Now, researchers are
working on the more dif-
ficult part of the question,
Dubcovsky said: making a
more robust plant, with more
biomass, that can mobi-
lize more starch to the extra
grains to increase yield.
“We have made a step
forward,” he said. “We
have half of the equation
solved.”
The
gene
already
existed in half of the mod-
ern wheat varieties in the
world, he said. Identifying
it may benefit those varieties
that didn’t already have it.
WAPO1 is frequently found
in wheat varieties used to
make bread flour but not in
pasta wheats such as durum.
“We know now in which
varieties it’s present and
which it’s not present,” he
said. “We didn’t know that
before. We were blind.”
But it will be years before
higher-yielding wheat vari-
eties appear in farmers’
fields. New varieties take 5
to 10 years to develop, Dub-
covsky said.
“The reality in breeding
is that we go step by step,”
he said. “In plants that have
a good biomass, you can
push yield 5%.”
That might not sound like
much of an improvement at
first.
But given that the world’s
wheat farmers raise 750 mil-
lion metric tons each year,
and wheat produces 20%
of calories and protein con-
sumed by the human popu-
lation, and the need to soon
feed 3 billion more people
on the same amount of land,
“that 5% starts taking a dif-
ferent perspective,” he said.
Two farmers
Gary Bailey and Andy
Juris raise wheat about 200
miles apart in Washing-
ton state. For both farmers,
yield is a major consider-
ation when deciding which
varieties to plant.
Their farms receive dif-
ferent amounts of rain.
Bailey farms in St.
John and represents Whit-
man County farmers on the
Washington Grain Com-
mission board. His land can
receive 14 to 17 inches of
rain per year — a lot for this
part of the state.
For him, a typical win-
ter wheat yield is about 80
bushels per acre.
Juris farms in Bickleton
and is vice president of the
Andy
Juris
Washington Association of
Wheat Growers. His farm
normally receives 8 to 10
inches of rain each year —
although last year during the
drought it got 3 inches.
In a fallow rotation, in
which he rests his soil some
years, his average yield is 35
to 40 bushels per acre.
Where he does annual
cropping in shallow soils
that can’t hold precipitation,
he averages 25 bushels per
acre.
Dubcovsky’s 5% increase
would mean a bushel or two
more per acre, Juris said.
“We’re kind of clinging
on sometimes by our fin-
gernails to the margins of
what is considered decent,
farmable ground,” he said.
“We’re always looking for
that next percentage.
“The low-hanging fruit
has all for the most part hap-
pened already,” he said of
other ways to boost yields
such as fertilization.
Since Bailey began farm-
ing 33 years ago, wheat
yields have increased 15%
through various factors, he
said, adding that 5% more
would be welcome.
Time will tell
Breeders in the Pacific
Northwest say Dubcovsky’s
discovery will put another
tool in their toolbox.
Identifying the gene
won’t directly affect gen-
eral breeding efforts in the
near future, but could help
breeding for specific pro-
duction systems long term,
Washington State Univer-
sity spring wheat breeder
Mike Pumphrey said.
If the gene’s already pres-
ent in Oregon State Univer-
sity’s germplasm, molec-
ular markers can be used
for marker-assisted selec-
tion, said OSU breeder Bob
Zemetra.
If not, it could be bred
into elite germplasm and
evaluated to determine the
impact on yield, he said.
Everyone agrees on one
point: Quality must not be
sacrificed.
Yield pays the bills, but
if a grower is discounted for
low
qual-
ity,
that
can change
how much
they’re paid
in a hurry,
said Mary
Mary Palmer Palmer Sul-
Sullivan
livan, vice
president
of the Washington Grain
Commission.
Pumphrey recommends
growers watch reliable, rep-
licated, multi-year, multi-lo-
cation regional yield per-
formance
data,
while
considering other traits of
importance.
As part of the Wheat-
CAP consortium’s $15 mil-
lion grant from the USDA
National Institute of Food
and Agriculture, research-
ers are evaluating the effect
of the genes in combina-
tion with other traits for
increased yield, said Arron
Carter, winter wheat breeder
at WSU.
Researchers need to take
a holistic approach with all
components of production,
Carter said, adding that top
yield is dictated by genetics,
climate, inputs, cropping
system and soil health.
“I don’t think we have
reached our limits yet,”
he said. “I think genetics
can continue to push yield
higher.”
GMO quandary
Years ago, corn and soy-
bean yields skyrocketed
with the advent of geneti-
cally modified organisms,
or GMOs, in which genetic
traits such as pest resis-
tance are inserted into the
varieties.
The global wheat market,
however, has not embraced
the technology. As yet, there
are no commercialized vari-
eties of wheat available
in the market developed
through biotechnology.
“It is unfortunate that
we cannot use GMOs in
wheat, because we can do a
lot more,” Dubcovsky said.
“Basically, you are asking
us to give you more food in
the same space, and you tied
our hands at our backs. But
since those are the rules, we
continue to do breeding with
our hands tied at our backs.”
Breeding will continue
to improve without GMOs,
he said. But GMOs would
allow solutions to a lot of
problems, including nutri-
tion and the economic value
of wheat.
“I understand, peo-
ple always fear what they
don’t know, and we need
to respect people’s fear,” he
said. “From a scientific point
of view, there’s no ratio-
nale on the limitations they
are putting upon me (with)
GMO. But I respect the peo-
ple — if people do not want
to eat them, I will not pro-
duce it.”
Investing in food
Dubcovsky, 65, said it’s
also time to find a younger
researcher to overlap with
him at UC-Davis to eventu-
ally take up the mantel.
“In the meantime, I will
continue doing it, I enjoy
doing it,” he said.
Even when a new person
arrives, he’d happily keep
helping out.
“This is my passion, so I
will proudly continue work-
ing on it,” he said.
Sullivan, of the grain
commission, notes that Dub-
covsky identified the gene
through federal research
funding.
“While each state that
has a checkoff for wheat
contributes
towards
research, we can’t do it
alone,” she said. “These
are the types of grants
and opportunities that we
wouldn’t otherwise have.
The more information, and
the more tools they have
in their toolbox, the better
off we’re going to be. It’s a
really good investment in
taxpayer dollars.”
Dubcovsky echoed the
need to support agricultural
research.
“Food is not something
that’s sold in the supermar-
ket,” he said. “Food is some-
thing you need to fight for
and you need to invest for,
if you want to have food on
the table tomorrow. Produc-
ing food takes work of a lot
of people.”
Dubcovsky left research
on yield for the end of his
career because he knew it
would be difficult.
Making a more produc-
tive plant requires a plant
that grows faster, a little
taller, with a stronger stem
to support more grain.
It can be done, he said,
pointing to triticale, a cross
between durum wheat and
rye, which has some of those
traits.
“We know that it’s possi-
ble,” he said. “Now we just
need to figure out how to get
there.”
Water: District has proposed charging
ag water users a higher rate this year
Continued from Page 1
NRCS
Scott Pattee, NRCS Washington Snow Survey water
supply specialist.
Snowpack: ‘I think La Nina’s
effects are really going to taper off’
Continued from Page 1
Washington State Cli-
matologist Nick Bond
attributed the April snow-
pack turnaround partly
to chance and partly to a
late-arriving La Nina.
“I think right now we’re
still feeling to an extent the
lingering effects of this La
Nina,” he said. “I think La
Nina’s effects are really
going to taper off.”
La Nina conditions, trig-
gered by cool Pacific Ocean
temperatures, are linked to
chilly winters in the north-
ern tier of the U.S. and
milder weather in the south-
ern tier.
Oregon, Idaho and Mon-
tana snowpacks improved
in April. Snowpacks in the
Southwest such as in Ari-
zona and New Mexico
declined.
“It’s usually that way in
the West. If somebody gets
water, somebody doesn’t,”
Bond said.
Washington Gov. Jay Ins-
lee issued a drought emer-
gency for the most of the
state last July. The decla-
ration expires June 1, and
state officials will meet this
week to discuss extending or
revising the declaration.
The declaration excluded
central Puget Sound, includ-
ing Seattle and Tacoma.
Marti said the declaration
probably will be lifted in
Western Washington. April
improved the summer out-
look east of the mountains,
particularly in the Walla
Walla area, he said, though
the region has a long-term
rain deficit.
The federal U.S. Drought
Monitor classifies the east-
ern half of the state in
drought, including 7% in
“extreme drought.”
by region, the universal theme is that
drought hurts suppliers and farmers.
One example of a district facing
escalating costs is Valley Water in
San Jose, Calif.
The district’s staff has proposed
charging agricultural water users a
higher rate per acre-foot this year:
up to 8% more for groundwater and
11.9% more for surface water.
Matt Keller, district spokes-
man, said there are a few reasons
behind the proposed increase. First,
the district may buy “emergency
water” on the open market. Second,
it must continue to maintain and
repair conveyance systems, expand
recycled water delivery and build
infrastructure.
Nearby Westlands Water Dis-
trict faces similar expenses. Deputy
general manager of resources Russ
Freeman said Westlands also gets
costs passed on to it from the U.S.
Bureau of Reclamation, which oper-
ates the Central Valley Project.
Reclamation’s primary revenue
comes from contractors, including
irrigation districts, paying for deliv-
eries. If drought forces the agency
to deliver less water, that means less
revenue.
“We still need to do our basic pro-
gram,” said Ann Lubas-Williams,
financial manager at Reclamation.
According to Sabir Ahmad,
rate-setting manager at Reclama-
tion, the agency develops annual
water rates based on projected costs
and deliveries.
For the Central Valley Proj-
ect, Ahmad said, Reclamation is
required to publish a proposed draft
rate Oct. 1 and final rate Dec. 31.
The challenge is predicting spring
precipitation.
Dec. 31, 2021, after heavy snow-
fall, Reclamation estimated the
operations and maintenance cost for
the Central Valley Project at $31 per
acre-foot. Then came one of the dri-
est January-through-March periods
on record. Now, the cost is $132 per
acre-foot.
Because Reclamation is under-
charging irrigation districts this
year, it will collect on the $101 per
acre-foot difference, or “deficit,”
next year. Contractors will have two
choices: pay the deficit in 30 days
with no interest or pay by 2030 with
interest.
Either way, Reclamation is pass-
ing on its costs. Some districts will
then pass on their costs to farmers.
In Eastern Oregon, Owyhee
Irrigation District is raising its
assessment $1 per acre in 2022 to
account for drought costs and infla-
tion. Clancy Flynn, manager, said
drought means more man-hours:
keeping canals trimmed, headgates
set, cleaning weeds off screens and
filing paperwork.
Josh Bailey, who manages North
Unit Irrigation District in Central
Oregon, said weed management is
more expensive during drought. As
farmers fallow fields, weeds spread
to canals and laterals. Bailey said the
district has seen a “massive increase”
in costs to control weeds and pay
overtime.
North Unit is dipping into reserves
rather than increasing rates this year,
but reserves won’t last forever.
In Southern Oregon, Klamath Irri-
gation District also faces catapulting
costs.
Gene Souza, district manager, said
canals that haven’t seen water in 18
months are strewn with weeds and
pockmarked with burrows made by
badgers, muskrats and yellow-bellied
marmots.
In the northern part of the district,
where soils are clay-based, parched
canals are cracking, requiring the dis-
trict to send out ditch riders to fill
cracks with bentonite clay. In the
southern region, where soils are sand-
ier, canals are crumbling, so the dis-
trict has to install geomembrane liner
at $8 to $15 per foot.
“Regardless of whether I deliver
(farmers) a drop of water or not, I’ve
got to maintain the system,” said
Souza.
Farmers won’t pay for water they
don’t receive, but they will pay assess-
ments to maintain delivery systems.
Klamath Irrigation District isn’t
raising rates this year, instead running
on reserve funds and incoming state
and federal dollars. But if drought
continues, Souza said, reserves could
run dry.
“If we don’t increase rates next
year, will we be here in 2024?” he
said.
Although Idaho and parts of Wash-
ington also face tight supplies, dis-
trict managers said their states are
better-positioned.
“We’re not as bad as Oregon,” said
David Christiansen, manager of Ida-
ho’s Snake River Valley Irrigation
District.
Christiansen said his district is
experiencing inflation but hasn’t yet
seen drought-related costs.
“I’m preparing for the worst, hop-
ing for the best,” said Christiansen.
But for some farmers, like Califor-
nia walnut grower Tim McCord, the
worst has already come.