Wheat board backs ID systems to replace KVD

The Canadian Wheat Board is putting up funding to test two new ways of identifying wheat varieties, for the day when kernel visual distinguishability (KVD) is phased out as the standard ID method.

Under KVD, the CWB explained, each wheat class is assigned distinct visual characteristics such as kernel shape and seed coat colour, so inspectors can quickly identify a variety by looking at a small number of kernels.

However, in a bid to help plant breeders develop new or improved varieties that can’t be distinguished in just a visual inspection, the federal government has set targets to remove KVD from minor wheat classes in August 2008 and from all wheat after 2010.

The CWB has supported setting up a new, industrial “General Purpose” wheat class, which will be launched in August 2008 to include new wheat lines bred for use in livestock feed and ethanol. Removing KVD may make it easier to breed general purpose varieties. However, the Prairies’ main milling wheats, Western Red Spring and Western Amber Durum, still rely on KVD.

To that end, the CWB has put up $1.3 million over two years for a project to develop a “black box” system. If it passes tests and can be built robust enough for commercial-scale use, the system would allow elevator agents to identify a wheat variety on the driveway.

The black-box system, which uses wavelength measurements from molecular signals, is being developed by NeoVentures Biotechnology of London, Ont., with help from the Manitoba Rural Adaptation Council.

The CWB has also put $1.7 million toward a lab-based system in development at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s Cereal Research Centre. Such a system would identify varieties by DNA and would be suited to samples from high-volume rail cars. While more accurate, the laboratory system would provide a result in a few hours, compared to a few minutes using the black-box system at an elevator.

The black-box system isn’t yet being field-tested at grain elevators or terminals. A CWB spokesperson said the system is expected to be tested in “some” locations by the end of 2008. Full commercial testing of the black-box unit would then start sometime in the fall of 2009.

“We need to ensure that eliminating KVD does not harm international marketing efforts,” said CWB CEO Greg Arason in a release, noting these new technologies will be “crucial” during the shift to a non-visual ID system.