Amid hot and dry conditions across the Canadian prairies, Harpinder Singh Randhawa is a senior research scientist at Agriculture Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) developing a new wheat variety to thrive under stress.
The AAC Raymond is a Soft White Spring wheat and will deliver 10 to 12 per cent higher yields compared to existing varieties, even during drought conditions.
Randhawa is based in Lethbridge, Alta., and has over two decades of experience with wheat breeding, biotechnology, and molecular genetics.
“From a farmer’s perspective, we’re looking at [a] higher economic performance and protecting their grain,” Randhawa said.
The Soft White Spring Wheat has strong resistance to diseases like stripe and leaf rusts, making it a reliable choice for farmers managing disease pressure.
“So, higher economic performance means it yields better. [It’s] better under stress tolerance, and it yields better under diseases because it is mostly resistant to rust diseases.”
This new wheat variety has low protein but high starch content, a versatile product used in baking, livestock feed, silage, malting, and ethanol production. Randhawa said the new wheat has been registered with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency and will be available for farmers within the next two years.
“It’s mainly going to be used for making cookies, cakes, biscuits. It’s also being used for livestock and for feedstock,” Randhawa said.
“It has a high starch content compared to other classes of wheat and slightly lower protein content, and that way it’s utilized multiple ways [like] feedstock, milling wheat, and sometimes it’s also being used in malting.”
The new wheat variety has been tested across several areas in Western Canada. It will allow farmers to build resilience, which will lead to higher yields especially in changing climates.
Canada’s role in crop development is critical, as the country depends on wheat production as an investment.
“Wheat is a major crop investment in Canada. We grow almost 20 million acres [of] investments in Canada. Wheat-producing investment in Canada is an export to hundreds of different countries,” Randhawa said.
He added that the majority of wheat produced in Canada is exported to different countries.
“About 95 per cent of wheat produced in Canada is produced investment in Canada,” Randhawa said.
“We consume domestically just about five per cent. The rest is all exported over many countries.”
With files from Sukhpreet Kaur, OMNI News
