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The fallout from falling numbers

'Falling number' is a measurement little known outside grain quality circles. But behind the scenes it has played a hand in the rejection of Alsen wheat and has quietly become synonymous with the greatest quality problem affecting Canadian wheat sales.

Falling numbers can mean a lot to farmers if they're tracking input costs, or charting grain or livestock prices. But perhaps few appreciate the importance of another falling number, which literally can have a "do or die" affect on grain grades and new grain varieties.

The "falling number" is a measurement used by plant breeders and grain quality specialists to determine the soundness of wheat, which is primarily influenced by the degree of sprouting in a grain sample.

It's a critical quality measurement that can make or break varieties, says Dr. Ron DePauw, wheat breeder with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada's Semiarid Prairie Agricultural Research Centre (SPARC) in Swift Current. "It can be a real heartbreaker for a plant breeder. If the numbers aren't there, it doesn't matter how many other good traits a new variety might have it won't make registration."

The balancing act facing plant breeders is to develop varieties with improved pre-harvest sprouting resistance or, in other terms, increased seed dormancy. But at the same time, they don't want to develop varieties with such high dormancy that they are difficult to germinate in the spring.

"We've made a lot of progress, but sprouting is a challenge that doesn't allow you to rest," says DePauw. "It takes an ongoing effort to ensure that the complex inheritance of sprouting resistance is both enhanced and passed on to each new generation of wheat varieties. We think this is a more than worthwhile effort, to support the long-term success of Canada's export-driven wheat production."

This article is an excerpt from the November 2003 edition of Western Grains Research Magazine, available at the Western Grains Research Foundation Web site, www.westerngrains.com. Read the full article here.

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