b'cision and accuracy. As the industry movesis very uniform, he explains, Were editing whatsforward, Dyck highlights thecontrasting it with older varie-already in the genome withnecessity of addressing theties that often contain around minimal off-target muta- inherent challenges oats face.27% non-usable grain. Were tions. Oats have to put up,trying to repurpose the plant Looking ahead, Eudeslike any plant, with a lot ofto create exactly what we want outlines AAFCs strategicpressures, he explains. Infor the right reasons.plan to mobilize scientificthe early years of breeding,This approach ensures that capacity in the face of signifi- a critical focus is identifyingresources are used efficiently, cant challenges.unique traits within the oatfrom fertilizer to rainwater. When we talk about genepopulation.This vision for innovation editing, were focusing on spe- Oats have a lot ofextends beyond yield to include cific genetic targets that meetvariability within them; someimprovements in kernel the merit criteria for registra- people call oats a messy hexa- density, leading to a denser oatJim Dyck operates Saskatoons tion in Canada, he states.ploid. There seems to be lotswith uniform outer sizes. Oat Advantage.This focus is crucial for ensur- of variation and even muta- What hes trying to do is ing that the next generation oftion that happens in the fieldrepurpose the plant to create wheat varieties not only meetson its own, he adds. exactly what he wants for the but exceeds the expectationsThis initial phase of breed- right reasons. of farmers. ing, lasting around four years,When we grow oats with Eudes is committed toinvolves rigorous evaluation ofhigh yield and high uniform-transformative traits thatthe plants and their charac- ity, we want to ensure that complement the existingteristics. Dyck notes, Wereall the resourcesfertilizer, genetic diversity of wheat.looking for combinationsdiesel fuel, time, energy, land, Improving traits linkedthat maybe were previouslyand raincome together to to photosynthesis and nitro- thought impossiblelikeproduce optimal grain, not gen fixation requires a deepplump grain with high beta- a wide variety of suboptimal understanding of complexglucan content or high pro- outcomes. Were aiming for a metabolic processes.tein and high yield. Our goalvery tight outcome.By combining gene editingis to break those traditionalSeveral of his varieties are with other powerful toolsconnections. already seeing success, someFrancois Eudes serves as the like genomic prediction andThe innovation doesntof which are offered throughnational science lead for the phenomic selection, Eudesstop there. Dyck points toSeCan, Canadas largest certi- breeding innovation and crop believes they can significantlya significant developmentfied seed supplierOREgermplasm development portfolio for Agriculture and Agri-Food advance crop performancein oat uniformity that hasBoost, ORE3541M andCanada.and sustainability. caught the attention of largerORE3542M.milling groups. He refers toWe were really glad when Advantages in Oat a graph showcasing variousSeCan decided to pick up Oats, once primarily knowntrait clusters, stating, Whenthese varieties and become a as feed for horses, are under- a trainload or truckload ofchampion for us in the mar-going a remarkable transfor- oats may look uniform atketplace through their seed mation in the agriculturalfirst, theres actually a lot ofgrower network. That was landscape. Jim Dyck, a keyvariety within it. Were tryingtruly amazing, Dyck says. player in the oat industry,to narrow that range andEarly on, we realized the emphasizes the importancecreate varieties that produce avalue of being in the field of innovation in this once- dense concentration of highlywith seed growersthere are underappreciated crop.uniform oat kernels. so many of themand we Oat is a small crop,To illustrate this point,were able to work with them maybe a little bit forgot- Dyck shares his oat rolloutand gather feedback on how ten sometimes, but theresdemonstrationa bar chartthings were going out there. certainly an opportunity forrepresenting the grain har- It helped us understand whatAdele Jamalzei is a student in smaller players like ourselvesvested off the combine.made these varieties stand out.plant breeding at Washington to add value to the old indus- About 67% to 70% of aSeCan recognized their strongState University.try, he says. load from one of our varietiesagronomics and good quality, NOVEMBER 2024 SEEDWORLD.COM/CANADA 43'