Karamanos, R. E. and Stevenson, F. C. 2013. Nitrogen fertilizer product and timing alternatives exist for forage production in the Peace region of Alberta. Can. J. Plant Sci. 93: 151-160. Four different N sources [ammonium nitrate (NIT), urea (UR), polymer-coated urea (PCU), and N-(n-butyl) thiophosphoric triamide-treated urea (AGR)] were applied to stands of pure meadow bromegrass (Bromus beibersteinii L.) or a 50:50 smooth bromegrass (Bromus inermis L.)-alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) mixture in late fall and early spring at four N rates (0, 60, 80 and 100 kg N ha^-1) over a 3-yr (2003-2005) period. The N treatments generally increased forage responses, but the response net revenue to N treatment was rarely positive and at times was negative, especially for PCU. On average, PCU resulted in lower yield and protein concentration, lesser N efficiency, and lesser profit relative to other forms of N. This difference was more pronounced in the spring and was less notable at Rycroft, the location with the bromegrass-alfalfa mixture. Also, greater N fertilizer rates increased the yield, protein concentration, total N uptake, and profit for all fertilizer forms. The exceptions to the preceding were N fertilizer rate did not affect forage responses for PCU and at the location with the brome-alfalfa mixture. Urea or AGR provided satisfactory agronomic alternatives to ammonium nitrate when applied in early spring at sufficient rates.

Romo, J. T. 2013. DoesFestuca hallii(Vasey) Piper produce and display more leaves on tillers after defoliation? Can. J. Plant Sci. 93: 161-164. Leaves per tiller produced and displayed following June, July, or August defoliation was determined for Festuca hallii. Two to three leaves per tiller were produced and displayed annually, and leaves per tiller did not vary among defoliation treatments. June defoliation reduced green leaves per tiller; leaf senescence increased after June and July defoliation.

Li, S., Ma, J. and Liu, P. 2013. OPR3is expressed in phloem cells and is vital for lateral root development inArabidopsis. Can. J. Plant Sci. 93: 165-170. Jasmonates, a group of oxylipin phytohormones in angiosperms, play important roles in regulating plant growth and development and in responding to environmental stimuli. AtOPR3, a 12-oxo-phytodienoic acid (OPDA) reductase in Arabidopsis thaliana, has been proven to be vital in catalyzing jasmonate biosynthesis. Here, the temporal and spatial expression of AtOPR3 was investigated by promoter-GUS fusion in A. thaliana. In pOPR3::GUS transgenic plants, the GUS activity was detected in roots, leaves and all floral organs, and was highly induced by MeJA treatment. In addition, the GUS activity was principally detected in the phloem cells of the leaf veins. The sequence of the OPR3 promoter region was predicted to have 49 potential binding sites for transcription factors including the well-known Myc-like basic helix-loop-helix, GATA, MADS, MYB-like and Homeobox proteins. In consistent with an expression of OPR3 in lateral roots, there are more lateral roots in the opr3 mutant plants, in which OPR3 expression is knocking-out. In addition, the involvement of auxin biosynthesis in JA-regulated lateral root development is implied by our observation that the transcripts of ASA1, a gene involved in auxin biosynthesis, are decreased in opr3 plants.

Qin, Y., Kabir, M. A., Wang, H. W., Lee, Y. H., Hong, S. H., Kim, J. Y., Yook, M. J., Kim, D. S., Kim, C. S., Kwon, H. and Kim, W. 2013. Assessment of genetic diversity and relationships based on RAPD and AFLP analyses inMiscanthusgenera landraces. Can. J. Plant Sci. 93: 171-182. In this study, molecular markers, random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) and amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) as well as combined RAPD and AFLP analysis were used to assess genetic diversity in a reference set of 38 Miscanthus accessions of which 32 were collected from South Korea and 6 from foreign countries. Using 30 selected RAPD primers, 197 amplified products were generated with an average of 6.6 bands, of which 135 bands were polymorphic (68.6%). A total of 1150 bands were detected by four-primer AFLP combinations with an average of 287.5 bands, out of which 923 bands were polymorphic (80.3%) across all the accessions. Analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA) indicated that a high proportion of the genetic variation (56% for RAPD and 58% for AFLP) was found among the Miscanthus species in South Korea. Genetic relationship was estimated using the Jaccard's coefficient values between different accessions, ranging from 0.23 to 0.93 in RAPD and 0.34 to 0.94 in AFLP. The un-weighted pair group method with arithmetic mean (UPGMA) analysis demonstrated less difference between RAPD and AFLP when alternative similarity coefficient was applied. The principal coordinates (PCO) analysis also revealed the significant geographic structure in the tested accessions. Among the accessions, SNU-M-040, 074 and 157 were highly divergent. Pattern of isolation by distance was observed in Miscanthus accessions, indicating that significant genetic differentiation among accessions might be due to the geographic distance.

Zhou, Y., Li, J., Korban, S. S. and Han, Y. 2013. Apple SSRs present in coding and noncoding regions of expressed sequence tags show differences in transferability to other fruit species in Rosaceae. Can. J. Plant Sci. 93: 183-190. Simple sequence repeat markers derived from expressed sequence tags (ESTs) are referred to as eSSRs. To develop molecular markers for non-model plants in Rosaceae, we investigated the transferability of apple eSSRs across seven fruit trees, belonging to four genera and 11 species of the Rosaceae family, including peach, quince, pear, loquat, apricot, cherry, and plum. Of the 98 apple eSSRs tested, 86 successfully amplified PCR products in at least one of the fruit tree species. Five apple eSSRs produced amplicons in more than five fruit tree species, and were deemed as a widely transferable Rosaceae marker set. Frequency of transferability of apple eSSRs across all seven fruit trees of Rosaceae varied widely among genera and species, with an average transferability of 29.0%. Overall, apple eSSRs transferred more easily to peach and pear than to plum and loquat. Interestingly, apple eSSRs present in coding sequences (CDS) showed higher levels of transferability to other fruit trees than those present in noncoding or untranslated regions (UTRs). Interestingly, apple eSSRs present in 5'UTRs showed lower frequencies of transfer than those present in 3'UTRs. The latter finding suggested that 5'UTRs might have diverged more rapidly than 3'UTRs in Rosaceae.

Szymajda M., Pruski, K., Zurawicz, E. and Sitarek, M. 2013. Freezing injuries to flower buds and their influence on yield of apricot (Prunus armeniacaL.) and peach (Prunus persicaL.). Can. J. Plant Sci. 93: 191-198. Each spring, for 3 consecutive years, 2009-2011, the degree of freezing injury to overwintering flower buds of selected cultivars and clones of apricot and peach was evaluated at the Dabrowice Research Institute of the Horticulture E$xperimental Orchard (District of Skierniewice, Poland). Apricot flower buds were damaged less severely than those of peach during the winter of 2009/2010 when the lowest temperatures (maximum drop in temperature) coincided with the full dormancy stage of the trees. Conversely, peach flower buds were less damaged than buds of apricot when the maximum drop in temperature occurred after the late winter thaw in both 2008/2009 and 2010/2011. Under Polish climatic conditions, peach proved to be more reliable than apricot in consistency to produce fruit. Results have shown that the most hardy apricot and peach cultivars can develop very strong winter hardiness allowing the trees to survive temperatures as low as -28°C, as long as there are no severe temperature fluctuations during late winter.

Badea, A., Eudes, F., Laroche, A., Graf, R., Doshi, K., Amundsen, E., Nilsson, D. and Puchalski, B. 2013. Antimicrobial peptides expressed in wheat reduce susceptibility toFusariumhead blight and powdery mildew. Can. J. Plant Sci. 93: 199-208. Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) have a broad spectrum of action against bacteria, fungi and viruses, which makes them attractive for building plant defense against a diversity of pathogens. Peptides MsrA2 and 10R were cloned in three genetic constructs for tissue-specific expressions in wheat, using either Lem1, GstA1WIR1a, or Ltp6 and LTP6 signal peptide targeting the lemma/palea, leaves and spikes, epicarp and endomembrane system, respectively. The minimal cassettes for these three genetic constructs and for Pat marker construct were co-delivered in immature wheat scutella using biolistics, and green plantlets were regenerated in presence of 5 mg L^-1 glufosinate. Molecular screening confirmed one regenerated plant carried and expressed all transgenes (AMP ): one copy of 10R driven by Ltp6 promoter, one copy of msrA2 driven by GstA1Wir1a and two copies of msrA2 driven by Lem1. Its offspring and T₃ generation were challenged with Fusarium graminearum and Blumeria graminis in a contained environment. A reduction of 50% in Fusarium head blight susceptibility was observed in T₁, and was inherited through T₃ generation. The latter, also presented a 53% reduction in Fusarium damaged kernels and 62% reduction in deoxynivalenol accumulation compared with wild cv. Fielder and sister lines AMP^-. MsrA2 and 10R producing T₃ lines showed an average significant reduction of 59% in powdery mildew susceptibility compared with cv. Fielder. Synthetic MsrA2 and 10R peptides were effective as in vivo antifungal peptides in wheat. The expression of antimicrobial peptides in plant cells or tissues may have great potential to limit pathogen infection or growth protecting wheat against a diversity of fungal diseases.

Xi, K., Chen, X. M., Capettini, F., Falconi, E., Yang, R. C., Helm, J. H., Holtz, M. D., Juskiw, P., Kumar, K., Nyachiro, J. and Turkington, T. K. 2013. Multivariate analysis of stripe rust assessment and reactions of barley in multi-location nurseries. Can. J. Plant Sci. 93: 209-219. A total of 1357 entries, mainly consisting of hulled two-row, hulled six-row and hulless barley, were evaluated in stripe rust nurseries at Toluca, Mexico during 2007, Quito, Ecuador during 2007 and 2008, and Pullman and Mt. Vernon, USA [Pacific Northwest (PNW)] during 2007-2009. Disease screening data for barley stripe rust resistance at multiple locations and seasons were analyzed using factor analysis (FA), principal component analysis (PCA) and analysis of variance (ANOVA). Factor analysis led to the removal of a number of disease assessment variables that had inadequate disease levels or an unsuitable rating scale. The PCA scores revealed that the two-row types of barley were generally more resistant than the six-row and hulless types. ANOVA indicated that the effect of seasonal influence on screening was small, while stripe rust susceptible and resistant barley types were differentiated significantly on mean values averaged on infection type (IT) and percentage diseased leaf area (disease severity, DS) during the 3-yr tests in multiple screening nurseries. The significant correlations in disease assessments between IT and DS suggest that either assessment can be used to replace the other without a significant loss of information regarding barley stripe rust reactions. The first principal component is a useful criterion for assessing stripe rust reactions in barley lines.

Zhang, J. X., Xue, A. G., Cober, E. R., Morrison, M. J., Zhang, H. J., Zhang, S. Z. and Gregorich, E. 2013. Prevalence, pathogenicity and cultivar resistance ofFusariumandRhizoctoniaspecies causing soybean root rot. Can. J. Plant Sci. 93: 221-236. Root rot complex, caused by Fusarium and Rhizoctonia species, is a major soybean disease in Canada. We isolated nine Fusarium and Rhizoctonia species including F. oxysporum (Fo), F. graminearum (Fg), F. solani (Fs), F. avenaceum (Fa), F. tricinctum (Ft), F. sporotrichioides (Fsp), F. equiseti (Fe), F. poae (Fp), and R. solani (Rs) from soybean roots in eastern Ontario, Canada. The isolation results indicated that Fo was the most prevalent species while Fa, Fsp, and Fp were the least frequent species in the soybean rhizosphere. Numbers of Fo, Fs, Fg, and Rs isolates recovered from adult plant roots were significantly greater than those from seedling roots (P<0.01). The Rs, Fg and Fsp isolates were significantly more abundant in the no-till field than in the tilled field (P<0.01). Based on the greenhouse assays, Rs, Fg, and Fa were the most pathogenic species, while Fe and Fsp were the least pathogenic to soybean. The field resistance evaluation, based on the root rot severity, identified 21, 17, 30, and 3 out of 70 cultivars among the most tolerant to Fg, Fo, Fs, and Rs, respectively. A few of the cultivars showed partial resistance to multiple species, based on root rot severity and reduction in their seedling emergence, plant height, and root dry weight, but no cultivar was found to partially resist all four species. There was no correlation (P>0.05) between root rot severity and the reduction in seedling emergence, plant height, or root dry weight.

Chen, Y., Shen, X. and Fang, Y. 2013. Fenclorim effects on rice germination and yield. Can. J. Plant Sci. 93: 237-241. Weedy rice (Oryza sativa f. spontanea) is a serious problem in rice-producing areas. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of the safener fenclorim on rice seed germination and yield when used in conjunction with the pre-emergent herbicide pretilachlor in the growth chamber and in the field. Rice seed germination was accelerated by soaking seeds in fenclorim (0.67 g L^-1), and pretilachlor (0, 450, 900, 1800, 3600 and 7200 g a.i. ha^-1) was applied 1, 3, 6, 12, 24, and 48 h after sowing in a growth chamber. Seeds were also soaked in fenclorim, and then pretilachlor was sprayed (0, 450 and 900 g a.i. ha^-1) 1 h after sowing in the field. The percentage of seedling germination for cultured rice was significantly increased by soaking in fenclorim prior to application of the pre-emergence herbicide pretilachlor compared with the control in the growth chamber. The application of the safener fenclorim increased rice yield by 56% and 50% in treatments with 450 and 900 g a.i. hm^-2 pre-emergence pretilachlor, respectively, and the weed population, height, and dry matter production were significantly reduced by pretilachlor application.

Davis, P. B., Maxwell, B. and Menalled, F. D. 2013. Impact of growing conditions on the competitive ability of Camelina sativa (L.) Crantz (Camelina). Can. J. Plant Sci. 93: 243-247. It has been claimed that Camelina sativa, a recently introduced crop in the northern Great Plains, is a highly competitive species. However, this issue has not been formally tested. Utilizing replacement series diagrams, we assessed the importance of growing conditions in the competitive ability of C. sativa. Results indicated that canola and Bromus tectorum were superior competitors in both loam and sandy soils, thus providing evidence that C. sativa may not be as competitive as previously indicated.

Kludze, H., Deen, B., Weersink, A., van Acker, R., Janovicek, K. and De Laporte, A. 2013. Impact of land classification on potential warm season grass biomass production in Ontario, Canada. Can. J. Plant Sci. 93: 249-260. This paper examines the land base of southern Ontario to determine the capability of land classes for growing two warm-season grasses, switchgrass (Panicum virgatum) and miscanthus (Miscanthus spp.), and discusses implications of a provincial biomass industry strictly based on biomass grown on marginal lands. The development of a biomass energy industry is a priority for many regional governments in Canada as a means to reduce fossil fuel use and improve environmental quality. Biomass productivity of the two crops was determined by assuming percentages of arable land area by quality that could be allocated to them: biomass productivity on “prime lands” was assumed to be higher than those of “marginal lands”. Our analysis indicates that Ontario has an adequate land base for producing miscanthus and/or switchgrass biomass to meet and surpass diverse competitive uses without significantly affecting food crop supply. Locations of marginal lands are scattered in the province and the feasibility of establishing a provincial biomass industry strictly based on biomass grown on these lands may not be economically sound or practical. A relatively small percentage of prime lands is required to achieve substantial biomass production with lower costs of production, and perhaps greater environmental benefit.

Irvine, B. R., Lafond, G. P., May, W., Kutcher, H. R., Clayton, G. W., Harker, K. N., Turkington, T. K. and Beres, B. L. 2013. Stubble options for winter wheat in the Black soil zone of western Canada. Can. J. Plant Sci. 93: 261-270. Winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) production has yet to reach its full potential in the Canadian prairies. Alternative stubble types are needed to help overcome the challenge of timely planting of winter wheat in late-maturing canola (Brassica napus L.) fields. A study was conducted in the prairie provinces of Canada to determine ideal stubble types for winter wheat and select spring cereals grown in the Black soil zone. Spring wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), canola, pea (Pisum sativum L.), barley grain or silage (Hordeum vulgare L.), and oat (Avena sativa L.) stubbles were established at four locations in western Canada. A new study area was established at each location for 3 yr. In the year following establishment, winter wheat, hard red spring wheat, barley, and oats were grown on each stubble type at each study area. Winter wheat and spring cereal crops often yielded best and had greater grain protein concentration on barley silage, pea, and canola stubbles relative to other stubble types. The yield and grain protein concentration of spring cereals was best when grown on pea stubble. Winter wheat production attributes varied most among site by crop combinations, and further investigation indicated the source of this variability may be from winter wheat plantings on canola and pea stubble. Among the optimal stubbles, less variable results were observed when winter wheat was grown on barley silage stubble, suggesting proper crop residue management would reduce the variability observed in canola and pea stubble. Our results suggest stubble alternatives to canola are available for winter wheat plantings in western Canada.

Karamanos, R., Flore, N. A. and Harapiak, J. T. 2013. Application of seed-row potash to spring wheat grown on soils with high available potassium levels. Can. J. Plant Sci. 93: 271-277. Two experiments were conducted at numerous locations across western Canada from 1990 to 1994 to ascertain the response of hard red spring (CWRS) wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) to seed-row applied K fertilizers. Soil test K levels at all sites (location×year combinations) exceeded the critical level for western Canada of 125 mg NH₄OAc-extractable K kg^-1, the concentration below which the probability of a K deficiency is high. In the first experiment, days to maturity and yield for wheat were statistically similar whether or not KCl was applied in the seed row. When the cultivar Roblin was grown significant (P<0.05) yield reductions as a result of seedrow placing low rates of potassium fertilizers were obtained. The second experiment showed that maturity and yield did not respond to treatments including KCl, K₂SO₄, or CaCl₂ fertilizer applied in seed row. Furthermore, spring wheat responses for any of the preceding treatments were not different relative to the control (no K fertilizer applied). These findings bring into question the benefit of seed-row K fertilizer application to hard red spring (CWRS) wheat production on K-sufficient soils in western Canada.

Taran, B., Holm, F. and Banniza, S. 2013. Response of chickpea cultivars to pre- and post-emergence herbicide applications. Can. J. Plant Sci. 93: 279-286. Weed control is one of the major constraints of chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) production in western Canada. There are no highly selective herbicides registered for broadleaf weed control in this crop in western Canada, consequently herbicide injury to the crop is an issue in many situations. Experiments were conducted at Saskatoon and Elrose, SK, to examine the effects of herbicide treatments on ascochyta blight severity, days to flowering, days to maturity, plant height and yield of several chickpea cultivars. Results in 2008 and 2009 showed that sulfentrazone was the safest option evaluated for broadleaf weed control in chickpea. The results also showed that although a pre-emergence application of low-rate imazethapyr caused minor levels of injury to the plants and slightly increased ascochyta blight severity, it had only minor effects on plant development and yield compared with sulfentrazone. In contrast, post-emergence applications of imazethapyr, imazamox and metribuzin increased ascochyta blight severity significantly, delayed flowering and maturity and reduced yield. The extent of the effects of pre- and post-emergence herbicide applications varied with cultivars.

Cutforth, H. 2013. Yield of spring wheat and field pea seeded into standing and cultivated canola stubble on the semiarid Canadian prairie. Can. J. Plant Sci. 93: 287-289. Previous research in the semiarid prairie showed that crop yields increased as the height of standing cereal stubble increased to ≥45 cm. A 3-yr (2008-2010) study was conducted at Swift Current, SK, to determine how seeding field pea and spring wheat into cultivated and tall (≥45 cm high) canola stubble affected crop yield. Similar to cereal stubble, crop yield and water use efficiency were significantly greater for crops grown in the tall standing canola stubble compared to the cultivated stubble. Water use by each crop was independent of stubble management.

Legge, W. G., Tucker, J. R., Fetch, Jr., T. G., Haber, S., Menzies, J. G., Noll, J. S., Tekauz, A., Turkington, T. K. and Savard, M. E. 2013. Major barley. Can. J. Plant Sci. 93: 291-297. Major is a hulled two-row spring malting barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) cultivar widely adapted to western Canada. Developed from the cross Rivers/Newdale made in 1999, Major was evaluated in the Western Cooperative Two-row Barley Registration Test (2006-2007) and the Collaborative Malting Barley Trials (2007-2008) conducted by the malting and brewing industry before being registered in 2009. Major has an excellent combination of agronomic traits and disease resistance with malting quality similar to AC Metcalfe, a cultivar widely used commercially by the malting and brewing industry in domestic and export markets.

Fox, S. L., Wise, I. L., Smith, M. A. H., Humphreys, D. G., Brown, P. D., McCallum, B. D., Fetch, T. G., Menzies, J. G., Gilbert, J. A., Fernandez, M. R., Despins, T., Lukow, O. and Niziol, D. 2013. Shaw hard red spring wheat. Can. J. Plant Sci. 93: 299-305. Shaw is a hard red spring wheat that meets the end-use quality specifications of the Canada Western Red Spring (CWRS) class. Shaw contains the antibiosis resistance gene Sm1, which is effective against the wheat midge larvae (Sitodiplosis mosellana Géhin). Shaw is derived from the cross Harvest/BW313. Shaw was found to be adapted to the eastern wheat growing regions of the Canadian prairies as represented in the Central Bread Wheat Cooperative (CBWC) Registration Test in 2006, 2007 and 2008. For registration testing, the performance of Shaw was estimated using a varietal blend called BW394 which consisted of 90% Shaw and 10% BA51*C222 (a midge-susceptible sibling of Shaw). In this report, Shaw VB refers to BW394. In comparison to the check cultivars (Katepwa, McKenzie, CDC Teal, Unity VB, and 5603HR), Shaw was the highest yielding cultivar overall; although not significant, Shaw was 1% higher yielding than Unity VB. Shaw matured significantly earlier than 5603HR. The plant stature of Shaw was significantly taller than all of the checks except Katepwa, but had similar lodging resistance scores as the checks. The test weight of Shaw was significantly higher than Katepwa and CDC Teal and within the range of the other checks. Shaw expressed resistance to leaf rust, stem rust and common bunt; susceptibility to fusarium head blight and to loose smut. Shaw had preharvest sprouting resistance with an overall sprouting score similar to the best checks McKenzie, Unity VB and 5603HR. The end-use suitability attributes of Shaw were within the range of the checks for all traits except for having significantly larger seeds.

Fox, S. L., Humphreys, D. G., Brown, P. D., McCallum, B. D., Fetch, T. G., Menzies, J. G., Gilbert, J. A., Fernandez, M. R., Despins, T. and Niziol, D. 2013. Cardale hard red spring wheat. Can. J. Plant Sci. 93: 307-313. Cardale is a hard red spring wheat that meets the end-use quality specifications of the Canada Western Red Spring (CWRS) class. Cardale is a semi-dwarf statured wheat with moderate resistance to Fusarium head blight (FHB). Cardale is derived from the cross McKenzie/Alsen. Cardale was found to be adapted to the eastern wheat growing regions of the Canadian prairies as represented in the Central Bread Wheat Cooperative (CBWC) Registration Test in 2008, 2009 and 2010. In comparison with the check cultivars, Cardale was significantly lower yielding than Unity VB, but overall similar to McKenzie and 5603HR. Cardale matured at the same time as 5603HR, but significantly later (1.5-2.5 d) than the other check cultivars. The plant stature of Cardale was significantly shorter (7-13 cm) than all of the checks, and Cardale had significantly lower lodging scores (0.5-0.7 units) than all of the checks except for CDC Teal. The test weight of Cardale was significantly lower (0.4-0.8 kg hL^-1) than that of McKenzie and Unity VB but similar to the other three checks. Cardale expressed resistance to leaf rust and stem rust and moderate resistance to FHB. Disease reactions for common bunt and loose smut were variable but suggested susceptibility and intermediate resistance, respectively. Cardale had preharvest sprouting resistance similar to the best checks McKenzie, Unity VB and 5603HR and significantly better than the poor check CDC Teal in three different determinations. The end-use suitability attributes of Cardale were within the range of the checks except for slightly higher water absorption due to slightly harder kernels (lower particle size index) that led to slightly higher starch damage which occurs during milling.

Thomas, J., Fox, S., McCallum, B., Fetch, T., Gilbert, J., Menzies, J., Wise, I., Smith, M., Gaudet, D., Niziol, D., Humphreys, G. and Brown, D. 2013. Vesper hard red spring wheat. Can. J. Plant Sci. 93: 315-321. Vesper is a high-yielding, hard red spring wheat that is adapted to the wheat-growing regions of Manitoba and Saskatchewan. In the Central Bread Wheat Cooperative Registration Trials of 2007, 2008 and 2009, Vesper out-yielded five check cultivars by an average of 12%, and Unity, which was the highest yielding check, by 4.6%. Lodging, height and maturity scores of Vesper were all intermediate (similar to the check mean). Pre-harvest sprouting resistance of Vesper was equivalent to the poorer checks (Katepwa and CDC Teal). Kernels of Vesper were heavier than all five checks and test weight was high (exceeded only by Unity). Vesper was resistant to leaf rust and was moderately resistant to stem rust and Fusarium head blight. Vesper was intermediately resistant to loose smut and was susceptible to common bunt. Spikes of Vesper showed two forms of resistance to wheat midge: antibiotic resistance (no larvae observed in the field) and antixenotic resistance (reduced egg numbers laid by caged ovipositing females). Over 3 yr of testing, end use quality of Vesper was rated as eligible for the Canada Western Red Spring (CWRS) market class of wheat. Kernels of Vesper were relatively hard with consequent high water absorption.

Reid, L. M., Zhu, X., Voloaca, C., Woldemariam, T. and Wu, J. 2013. CO447 corn inbred line. Can. J. Plant Sci. 93: 323-326. CO447 is a short-season corn (Zea mays L.) inbred line with excellent combining ability. This inbred performed well as a parent with both stiff and non-stiff stalk inbreds. Excellent yields were achieved with the iodent inbred MBS8148 and the stiff-stalk inbred TR2040 at many locations.

Reid, L. M., Zhu, X., Voloaca, C., Woldemariam, T. and Wu, J. 2013. CO448 corn inbred line. Can. J. Plant Sci. 93: 327-330. CO448 is a short-season corn (Zea mays L.) inbred line with excellent combining ability in hybrids. This inbred performed well as a parent with both stiff and non-stiff stalk inbreds, but had consistently excellent performance with B14 type testers like TR2040 and MBS1130.

Reid, L. M., Voloaca, C., Woldemariam, T., Wu, J. and Zhu, X. 2013. CO449 corn inbred line. Can. J. Plant Sci. 93: 331-335. CO449 is a short-season corn (Zea mays L.) inbred line with excellent combining ability and superior resistance to gibberella ear rot as well as intermediate resistance to several other ear, stalk and leaf diseases. Excellent yields and performance data were achieved with stiff stalk inbreds such as MBS1236 and MBS1130.

Bing, D. J., Beauchesne, D., McLaren, D., Vera, C. and Gehl, D. 2013. AAC Peace River field pea. Can. J. Plant Sci. 93: 337-339. AAC Peace River is a semi-leafless, yellow cotyledon field pea (Pisum sativum L.) cultivar developed at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Lacombe Research Centre, Lacombe, Alberta, Canada. It is an early-maturing cultivar and is resistant to powdery mildew caused by Erysiphe pisi Syd. AAC Peace River is adapted to all field growing regions in western Canada, and is especially suited to regions with short growing seasons.

Khanizadeh, S., Granger, R., Dubé, C. and Groleau, Y. 2013. Jade crab apple. Can. J. Plant Sci. 93: 341-342. Jade is a winter-hardy, scab-resistant ornamental apple tree released by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC), Horticulture Research and Development Centre (HRDC), for Quebec and eastern and central Canada. Its name, ‘Jade’, which is of Spanish origin, is used because of the very shiny light green to yellowish ground colour of the fruits; Jade is named after the first author's daughter.