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Breeding Methods
   Modified Pedigree Method

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Breeding for Agronomic Traits
  
Grain yield
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Breeding for Disease Resistance
  
Fusarium head blight
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Breeding for Quality Traits
  
Color
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Durum Wheat Varieties
   Divide 2005
   Grenora 2005
   Alkabo 2005
   Dilse 2002
   Pierce 2001
   Lebsock 1999
   Plaza 1999
   Maier 1998
   Mountrail 1998
   Belzer 1997
   Ben 1996
   Munich 1995
   All NDSU durum releases
Durum Wheat Products
   Pasta Products
   Couscous
   Bulgur
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   Breakfast cereal
   Durum Wheat Bread
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Objectives  

The primary goal of the breeding program is to develop improved durum wheat cultivars for characteristics such as grain yield, maturity, disease resistance, and quality. A successful  breeding program should have clearly defined objectives that are realistic and based on the industry demand for the crop. The objectives of the Durum Wheat Breeding and Genetics Project at North Dakota State University are

      a)   to develop improved durum wheat cultivars that maximize the economic return to the producer and provide excellent durum quality for the domestic pasta industry and the international export market and

 

b)      to conduct basic genetic studies of important traits in durum wheat to facilitate cultivar development.

  

The industry demands are based on the needs of the producer, miller, processor, consumer, and exporter. The demands of the industry are listed in the Table below. Based on these industry demands the objectives of the breeding program can be more specific and can be divided into breeding for agronomic, disease resistance, and end-use quality traits.

 Durum wheat industry demands.

________________________________________________

Industry

                Traits

 

 

Producer

High grain yield

 

Medium plant height and maturity

 

Disease resistance

 

High grade

 

 

Miller

Large kernel size and uniformity

 

High semolina yield

 

Good semolina color

 

Low semolina specks

 

 

Processor

Strong gluten

 

High protein concentration

 

Good spaghetti color

 

 

Consumer

Good spaghetti color

 

Spaghetti firmness

 

Low cooking loss

 

 

Exporter

High test weight

 

High protein concentration

 

Strong gluten

 

Good spaghetti color