A public-private partnership will see $10 million invested in wheat research in Saskatchewan over the next five years.
Agriculture minister Lyle Stewart on Wednesday announced three projects worth $2.7 million in provincial funding, plus matching funds from the companies involved.
Dow AgroSciences and the province will each spend $1.25 million on a project to develop wheat varieties that offer improved food quality and agronomic performance. The project will be led by Curtis Pozniak from the University of Saskatchewan.
Bayer CropScience will match $800,000 in provincial funding for a project looking at stripe rust control through both fungicides and genetics. Professor Randy Kutcher from the U of S will lead this project.
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And Secan and the province will each contribute $665,000 for a project to screen disease and test quality when breeding wheat. Agriculture Canada biotechnologist Ron Knox will be the principal investigator.
The provincial funds are available through the Agriculture Development Fund and are part of a $10 million commitment premier Brad Wall made at the provincial wheat summit in 2012.
Future research projects are eligible to apply for $2.3 million in funding still available from the government. A call for proposals will be held in the fall.
