Kansas Wheat Innovation Center (KWIC) is part of Kansas State University’s Grain Science and Industry Complex. The goal of the $15 million, 48,000 sq. foot facility is to use advanced techniques in wheat research to improve yield and quality of new varieties while shortening the time needed to develop those varieties. The challenge is how to get improved varieties into the hands of farmers faster because that is what’s necessary to ensure an adequate food supply for current and future generations.
Solution
The Innovation Center’s solution is to find desirable traits like disease resistance or drought tolerance in wheat’s relatives and cross them to create new, higher quality varieties. Using genetically pure plant lines, or doubled haploids, scientists can then offer a quick route to new gene combinations for higher yields, faster. The process begins in the 15,000 sq. ft. of research laboratories, featuring 13 indoor climate-controlled growth rooms from Conviron.
After the winter wheat plants have matured in the growth rooms, they get moved to the Argus controlled greenhouses. In total there are 8 greenhouses that span nearly 23,000 square feet that provide ideal growing conditions for wheat, even in the hottest summer months.
Kansas Wheat CEO Justin Gilpin, far left, leads a tour of the Kansas Wheat Innovation Center.
Impact
The double haploid process offers a quick route to new gene combinations for higher yield, improved quality, disease resistance, or other crop improvements. It normally takes 12 years for a new variety of wheat to get into the hands of farmers, however the double haploid is a wheat breeding shortcut because it can cut four to six years off the breeding process.
Eight greenhouses span nearly 23,000 sq. ft. and provide ideal growing conditions for wheat.
Overall these labs and growth rooms are essential to the double haploid breeding process because they allow scientists to grow multiple generations of winter wheat and conduct experiments year round.
KWIC is also home to the the world-renowned Wheat Genetics Resource Center (WGRC). The WGRC houses its collection of seeds from wheat’s ancient relatives in a Conviron chamber and has three main missions to assure future advances in wheat breeding:
Collect, conserve, and utilize germplasm in crop improvement for sustainable production by broadening the crop genetic base,
Create and promote the free exchange of materials, technology, and new knowledge in genetics and biotechnology among the world's public and private organizations, and
Sponsor graduate and postgraduate students and visiting scientists for academic training and advanced research in the WGRC laboratories.
The WGRC maintains a gene bank, along with evaluation and passport data, on 2,500 wheat species accessions. In addition, the WGRC houses 2,200 cytogenetic stocks, the genetic treasures produced by a lifetime of work by wheat scientists.
