Farmers got a firsthand look at some of Prograin's early maturing soybean varieties in the Extend program. Two year and one year pre-commercial material was also on display at the 12th annual Valley Soybean Expo hosted by Quarry Seed near Oakville.
Assistant Breeder with Prograin, Sylvain Legay, says this summer was a good opportunity to see how the varieties handled the hot and dry conditions.
"We don't have exactly the same climate where we develop them in Saint-Césaire (Quebec) so it's good for us to see how they're behaving."
He added, "So far from what we've seen in touring different places in Manitoba, they've been responding very well we we're very happy with that."
As for certain traits that Prograin is focusing on, Legay said breeders are looking at varieties that have Iron Deficiency Chlorosis tolerant backgrounds.
"We're doing some trial plots, started this year in Manitoba, testing out all of our new research material that is pretty much one year to pre-commercial, and sometimes two years to pre-commercial, just to have a feel of how they're doing in these conditions."
He added they are also looking at Soybean Cyst Nematode tolerance, and how to tackle Phytophthora.
Meantime, southern Manitoba is known for its dramatic weather, going from excessive wet conditions one year to drought-like conditions the next. We asked Legay what Prograin is doing to head-off that challenge.
Source : Steinbachonline