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Northern Plains Sustainable Agriculture Society develops resistant organic wheat variety
LaMoure - A group of organic farmers and researchers affiliated with the Northern Plains Sustainable Agriculture Society (NPSAS) has developed a multi-gene resistant variety of hard red spring wheat that is free of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) and improves yields.
The Farm Breeder Club introduced KW 175, as the variety is currently known, to farmers and agriculture professionals during the club's tours of three cooperating farms this month.
"We are taking our destiny into our own hands," said Steve Zwinger, NPSAS vice president and research associate at the North Dakota State University Carrington Research Extension Center. "We are developing seeds specifically for the organic community, which needs seeds that are enduring over time, elastic enough to grow under many environmental conditions, have multi-gene resistance to pests and are not GMO contaminated."
Tube-free seed
The new variety is important to organic farmers, who must only grow GMO-free crops to qualify for organic certification from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
A genetically modified plant is one that contains an organism whose genetic material has been altered using techniques in genetics generally known as recombinant DNA technology. Recombinant DNA technology allows researchers and breeders to combine DNA molecules from different sources into one plant. It is used to engineer crop seeds for resistance to various diseases or pests. For example, a gene can be inserted into plants to make them resistant to Roundup or scab. The resulting plant is considered to contain a GMO.
Since many seed sources are contaminated with GMOs, and generally those that are not are only single-gene resistant, organic farmers needed to develop their own seed sources.
Testing shows improved resistance, yields
The Farm Breeder Club, in conjunction with the NDSU Carrington Research Extension Center, conducted extensive tests of KW 175 at the research center and on farms in North Dakota and Minnesota in 2005 and 2006. In 16 site-year tests (one site for one year equals one site-year), KW 175 have shown a 12-13 percent yield increase over Alsen, a common hard red variety, regardless of environmental conditions. In addition, KW 175 has performed well both in drought and wet conditions, including irrigation. Plot testing continues.
The NPSAS conducted taste tests of bread made with KW 175 at its Winter Conference in Fargo in February 2006. Those who tasted the bread graded it as just as good as or better than bread made from other varieties.
From Oregon to North Dakota
KW 175 has been nurtured through years of selection, beginning with Mathias Kolding of Pendleton, Ore., who found the first plant in 1993 in a field devastated by scab disease. Kolding planted the seed, continued the selection process and eventually donated his KW 175 to the Farm Breeder Club in 2005.
Organic farmers Anne Ongstad, of Robinson, David Podoll, of Fullerton, Blaine Schmaltz, of Rugby, and Lewis Seibold, Cathay, participated in the Farm Breeder Club trials in 2005. Ongstad and Schmaltz are increasing the stock of KW 175 seed this year. Currently, the four farmers have a total of 75 acres of KW 175 in production.
In addition to KW 175, the club has been selecting and increasing seeds of other heritage wheat varieties and emmer, an ancient crop. The seed sources were varieties that existed prior to the chemical revolution that began in the 1950s.
The NPSAS plans to rename the new wheat variety in the near future and release it for sale for the 2007 growing season. The organization will use the income to support future seed trials, including tests of more heritage wheats, emmer, blue and white corn and triticale.
Seeds for the future
The Farm Breeder Club, formed in 1999, brings farmers together to share knowledge and seed stock for seed saving and breeding.
The NPSAS, a 27-year-old nonprofit grassroots membership organization, is committed to developing a more sustainable society through the promotion of ecologically sound, socially just and economically viable food systems.
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