Aaron Semington Presents his UROP about NWR Seed Shattering. 12/1/2020
Aaron Semington, who is an undergraduate worker in our program, completed a UROP, for which he conducted original research. In the accompanying video you will hear him present his findings about the prevalence of a previously identified shattering resistance allele in elite breeding lines and natural stand plants.
NWR Seed Dormancy Tests. 10/1/2020
The seed dormancy period required for NWR germination can present challenges for wild rice research. Shortening seed dormancy will allow the program to conduct research on multiple generations in a year, increasing the speed at which research can be completed. Starting in October and repeating in November and December, tests will be conducted to assess various methods for breaking NWR seed dormancy. Both mechanical and hormonal methods will be used for this research, as well as the combination of the two.
Drone Flying Practice and the Paddy Complex. 09/01/2020
The use of drones in agriculture is becoming more and more common. The NWR breeding program is now practicing with a drone for use in future research. This video shows the paddy complex used for research at the North Central Research and Outreach Center in Grand Rapids, MN.
Minnesota Wild Rice Breeding Introduction Video. 8/1/2020
In a normal year, the North Central Research and Outreach Center would host field days, where interested parties can come and see presentations about ongoing research as well as see the progress of the plots and paddies. For safety reasons this field day could not be held. In its place a virtual visitors day was put together with videos from the different programs. Dr. Kimball's video can be seen here. Videos from other programs can be found here.
NWR Seed Storage Research Published in Seed Science Research. 04/20/2020
Seed storage is a major consideration for the Kimball NWR breeding program due to the intermediately recalcitrant behavior of the seed. A manuscript detailing research into the storage of NWR seed, written by Lillian McGilp, Jacques Duquette, Dan Braaten, Dr. Kimball, and Dr. Porter, was published in April 2020 in Seed Science Research. Ongoing seed storage studies benefit from the information provided in this publication. For more information on the physiology of seeds click here.
Manuscript of BBCH Scale for Northern Wild Rice Accepted for Publication. 03/04/2020
A manuscript written by Jacques Duquette and Dr. Kimball, describing for the first time a detailed BBCH scale for NWR has been accepted for publication. This type of phenological scale is used for a variety of different plant species and assists with the reproducibility of research. Additionally, such a scale can help researchers to better communicate with farmers about appropriate timing for various inputs throughout the growing season. For more information about this scale check out our outreach page.
Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program Funds Two Projects in NWR Breeding Program. 01/21/2020
Undergraduate researchers Aaron Semington and Cedar Palaia from the Kimball wild rice breeding program each received funding from the University of Minnesota Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP) to conduct their own research projects. Aaron will assess NWR germplasm for the presence of a shattering associated marker. Cedar will characterize the longevity and germination of pollen from NWR.
The Minnesota Cultivated Wild Rice Council held its annual Wild Rice Symposium. 1/8/2020
Dr. Kimball, staff Lillian McGilp and Jacques Duquette, post-doc Matthew Haas and graduate student Reneth Millas from the Kimball wild rice breeding program presented research to growers, council members, and other industry members. Presentations were also made by University of Minnesota members in the departments of Entomology, Food Science and Nutrition, and Plant Pathology. Also present at the symposium was Thom Peterson, Commissioner of Agriculture with the Minnesota Department of Agriculture, who was also given a tour of the NCROC facilities following the sympos