Screening for lodging resistance in spring wheat breeding programmes

Selection for lodging resistance in Canadian hard red spring wheat under natural conditions is difficult due to the sporadic and often random nature of lodging events. We conducted field trials in Edmonton AB Canada (2000–2002) to determine if either a high seeding rate, or artificially inducing lodging (by dragging a weighted apparatus across plots at the early milk stage), would be an effective screen for determining genetic lodging resistance in wheat breeding programmes. For the 25 genotypes tested, applying artificial lodging at the experimental mean early milk stage was a suitable method to screen and identify lodging tolerant and susceptible genotypes. Tolerance to artificially induced lodging was mainly found within semi‐dwarf genotypes, and susceptibility was mainly found within Canadian bread wheat genotypes. Severe lodging resulted in yield losses as high as 40%. Lodging tolerant genotypes identified in this study are now being crossed into elite western Canadian bread wheat in an effort to increase genetic lodging resistance within Canadian breeding lines.