CWA, CIMMYT to collaborate on durum wheat disease resistance

The Canadian Wheat Alliance (CWA) and the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) will collaborate on research to provide farmers in Canada and in developing countries access to stronger, more resistant durum wheat. The joint research builds upon both organizations’ programs to improve the yield, sustainability and profitability of wheat.

The research represents an opportunity to improve durum wheat’s resistance to diseases of concern to CIMMYT and CWA, while providing economic benefits for Canadian wheat farmers. Researchers will seek to reduce the effects of wheat rust diseases and of Fusarium head blight, a cause of dangerous toxins in grain, by increasing durum wheat’s resistance to these global fungal diseases, leveraging the expertise of CWA in wheat genomics approaches and CIMMYT’s expertise in field trials.