Welcome to Maize Breeding & Genetics
The maize breeding and genetics program is part of the Department of Plant Agriculture within the Ontario Agricultural College (OAC). Funding support for the program comes from the Ontario Ministry of Education and Training (MET), the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA), Agricultural Adaptation Council (CanAdapt), Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC), and from the Ontario Corn Producers' Association (OCPA).
There are two types of activities that our research group is engaged in, maize breeding related activities and research aimed at understanding the inheritance of quantitative traits. The breeding activities develop intellectual property protected through use agreements, while the quantitative genetics research exploits this genetic variation to address fundamental questions.
The maize genetic research program is highly collaborative incorporating crop physiology, biochemistry, molecular biology, and quantitative genetics. Our current research activities are in four areas: (1) modeling quantitative traits, (2) identifying and defining grain yield QTLs, (3) elucidating the physiology and genetics underlying grain yield, and (4) examining mechanisms conferring tolerance to cold and other abiotic stresses.
The breeding program focuses on the development of short-season yellow dent inbred lines, white food grade inbred lines, and inbred lines with value-added traits such as specialty starches, and high lutein and zeaxanthin.