Hari Poudel, Ph.D.
Breeding improved productivity and quality through conventional breeding and utlization of the genomics tools to increase seletion efficiencies in forage crops suitable for western Canada
Current research and/or projects
- Novel sainfoin cultivars for enhancing production efficiencies of pasture and beef cattle (BCRC funded project)
- Improving lipid content in vegetative tissue to increase the nutritive value of herbaceous legume forages (Jointly funded by Sask ADF and BCRC)
- Development of several improved germplasm of sainfoin and alfalfa
Research and/or project statements
Our research activities are focused on breeding forage germplasm or cultivars with increased productivity and nutritive values, and improved stress tolerance using innovative breeding approaches. Our project on improving lipid content in forages will not only improve animal health but also reduce enteric methane emissions. Incorporation of sainfoin with alfalfa reduces alfalfa bloat in ruminants. Similarly, our stress-tolerant cultivars can be planted in the marginal land to increase resource use efficiency in forage production. All these activities will directly help improve farm profitability and sustainability without adversely affecting the environment.
Professional activities / interests
- Forage legume and grass breeding for improved quality and productivity through conventional breeding and genome assisted selection methods
- Utilization genetic and genomic tools to understand the molecular mechanism and increase selection efficiencies in forage crops
- Assessment of predictive models using high-throughput data and exploring their biological significance for improving forage productivity
Additional links
https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=VBDnbqYAAAAJ&hl=en
Contact
Research facility
ORCIDExpertise
Affiliations
- Alberta Forage Industry Network –Member
- American Society of Agronomy and Crop Science - Member
- Canadian Society of Agronomy- Member
- Alfalfa Seed Committee- Board Member