Location: Small Grain and Food Crops Quality Research
Project Number: 3060-21650-002-029-S
Project Type: Non-Assistance Cooperative Agreement
Start Date: Aug 1, 2021
End Date: Dec 31, 2025
Objective:
(1) Screen a diverse set of field pea germplasm in the field for slow wilting and sustained nitrogen fixation under drought stress conditions; (2) Begin the process of identifying the genomic regions associated with these traits for introgression into elite breeding material that can be easily utilized in breeding programs for the purpose of cultivar development.
Approach:
We will obtain a core set of approximately 300 accessions from the USDA Germplasm Collection that has been identified as morphologically and geographically diverse as well as divergent from mainstream breeding germplasm. Field trials will be conducted over two years and two locations in Wyoming that differ environmentally in terms of annual rainfall, temperature elevation, and soil type. In Year 1, plots will be grown in two replications at each location under deficit irrigation, 60% evapotranspiration (ET). Plots will consist of the approximately 300 accessions as well as commercial checks. Data will be collected on yield, days to flowering, maturity, canopy wilting, canopy temperature, normalized difference vegetative index (NDVI), and total seed nitrogen. To be retained for the second year of testing, a line will have to yield in the top 25% at each location. In Year 2, plots will be grown in a randomized complete block design with three replications across both locations. In Year 2, we plan to collect data on the same traits as collected in Year 1 as well as aboveground biomass nitrogen. Crossing will begin in the fall of 2023 with the top yielding 5% of accessions determined from Year 2 data for the purpose of identifying the genomic locations associated with these phenotypes.
