Wheat midge adults are tiny orange-coloured flying insects that are typically observed at dusk under calm conditions.

‘Midgebusters’ lead research attack on wheat midge

From mechanical deterrents like awns to taking inspiration from old varieties, one research team hopes to find new genetic weapons against wheat midge canonical in normal spot

Reading Time: 4 minutes From mechanical deterrents like awns to taking inspiration from old varieties, one research team hopes to find new genetic weapons against wheat midge


All varieties of durum wheat in Canada are now low-cadmium lines thanks to breeding efforts in the mid-2000s, and with the recent mapping of the durum genome, wheat breeders will be able to screen the germplasm for the gene that causes cadmium accumulation in the grain much faster.

Canadian researchers crack the case of high-cadmium durum

The recent mapping of durum wheat genome has solved a mystery 30 years in the making — why some varieties are high in cadmium while others are low

Reading Time: 4 minutes Cadmium accumulation in Canadian durum has been a “solved problem” since 2005 — but now genomics have allowed researchers to finally understand why it was a problem in the first place. “It’s a really elegant story about how both breeding and the fundamental science of why cadmium moves in the durum plant actually came together […] Read more

Move those old wheat varieties soon

Move those old wheat varieties soon

Reading Time: < 1 minute The Prairie wheat commissions are reminding farmers of the upcoming reclassification of 29 wheat varieties. On Aug. 1, 25 varieties currently in the Canada Western Red Spring class (along with four Canada Prairie Spring Red varieties) will move to the Canada Northern Hard Red class. These include Harvest, Lillian, and Unity, which were grown on […] Read more