Spaner Lab Scores Hat Trick at Organic Connections

By Brenda Frick, Ph.D.

Graduate students Todd Reid, Alison Nelson and Heather Mason were recognized for the quality of their research posters at Organic Connections 2006. The students’ excellence is a credit to Dean Spaner from the University of Alberta, who supervises all three. Dean’s research group focuses on agronomy and breeding of wheat for organic production.

The students were selected from poster contributors from Alberta to Ontario. The panel of judges included research, business development and extension expertise in organics on the prairies. The contest was organized by the Organic Agriculture Centre of Canada, with prize money provided by the Saskatchewan Organic Directorate.

Organic producers have repeatedly expressed the concern that varieties selected under conventional management may not be those best suited to organic production. Todd Reid’s poster explored this question, asking “Is organic spring wheat breeding necessary?” In his research, Todd crossed different varieties of wheat, and grew their descendants under both organic and conventional management. He has 79 wheat lines, grown in 8 site years.

In the initial analysis of his results, Todd compared the lines that were in the top 10% for yield under organic management with those that were in the top 10% for yield under conventional management. These two groups had only one member in common. Todd’s analysis is still preliminary, and he has so far only considered the results for yield. His results indicate that selecting the best lines under conventional management (as is commonly done) may not produce the best lines for organic production. This suggests that organic producers could benefit from breeding programs that make selections under organic conditions.

Alison Nelson and Heather Mason explored ways of improving wheat productivity. Alison’s poster asked “Can Annual Intercrops Help Control Weeds and Improve Productivity?” She grew wheat, barley, canola and field peas by themselves, and in combinations that included wheat (e.g. wheat with barley; wheat with canola; wheat with barley and canola, etc.). When two crops were grown together they were each seeded at ½ the rate that they were seeded when grown alone. If three crops were grown together, each was seeded at 1/3 the solo rate, and so on. The test was grown at two conventional sites and two organic sites.

Alison found that barley and wheat mixtures had lower weed biomass than mixtures with field peas or canola. She compared the land equivalence ratio of various mixtures. This measure indicates if yields are higher when the crops are grown together or when grown separately. Several intercrops, including wheat with barley and canola and wheat with barley and pea, yielded higher when grown together as intercrops. Although the results are preliminary, this suggests that intercropping less competitive crops like canola and pea with more competitive crops like barley may suppress weeds and improve productivity.

Heather Mason compared the competitive ability of different varieties of spring cereals, and looked at increased seeding rate as a method of improving competitive ability. She hoped to identify the traits that make cereals more competitive. The varieties she chose were of different heights, different rates of maturity, and produced different numbers of tillers.

Heather found that height, early maturity and early vigour were important to weed suppression and to maintaining yield in weedy conditions. Tillering ability was less important. CDC Go, a new, short spring wheat variety was high yielding, but did not compete well with weeds. Katepwa and Park, older, taller spring wheat varieties showed the best combination of grain yield with weed suppression. For all varieties, doubling the seeding rate increased grain yield, improved weed suppression and improved economic returns.

Todd Reid, Alison Nelson, Heather Mason and of course Dean Spaner from the University of Alberta are providing credible research of use to wheat producers. By testing under organic and conventional systems they provide valuable results to producers of both systems, and help to clarify the similarities and differences between the two systems.


Brenda Frick, Ph.D., P.Ag., is the Prairie Coordinator for OACC (the Organic Agriculture Centre of Canada) at the College of Agriculture, University of Saskatchewan. She welcomes your comments at 306-966-4975 or via email at brenda.frick@usask.ca.


This article first appeared in The Western Producer, and is published here on the OACC website with permission.


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Posted February 2007