Robert J. Graf, Ph.D., P.Ag.

Principal Research Scientist, Winter Wheat Breeding

Development of field-ready cultivars of winter wheat germplasm adapted to western Canada

Lethbridge, AB

Current research and/or projects

Mandate: The development of winter wheat cultivars for the various agri-climatic regions of western Canada that combine high yield and cold tolerance with superior productivity traits, enhanced disease and pest resistance, and end-use quality profiles that serve traditional and emerging markets.

Research and/or project statements

Principal Investigator

Enhancing the stability of recent yield advances in western Canadian winter wheat. Western Winter Wheat Initiative, 2016-2020. To breed improved disease and pest resistance into new higher yielding CWRW wheat cultivars to enhance the long term durability of the yield gains that have been recently been achieved.
Development of improved wnter wheat cultivars for western Canada. Canadian National Wheat Cluster, 2018-2023. To develop improved field-ready cultivars of winter wheat for western Canada.
Premium quality hard red winter wheat for western Canada. Agriculture Funding Consortium, 2019-2022. To develop over the medium term, winter wheat cultivars with CWRS-like end-use quality with yield, agronomics, and disease resistance competitive with current cultivars at the time of registration.

Education and awards

Education

PhD, Plant Breeding & Agronomy, University of Saskatchewan (1989)
BSA (Great Distinction), Agronomy, University of Saskatchewan (1982)

Awards

2020 Canadian Plant Breeding and Genetics Award
2016 ASTech Leadership Foundation Award for Innovation in Agricultural Science
2015 AAFC Gold Harvest Award for Innovation, Collaboration & Service Excellence
2015 Canadian Society of Agronomy Best Paper Award (co-author)
2012 Canadian Seed Growers Association, Honorary Life Membership
2010 Alberta Seed Growers Association, Honorary Life Membership

Key publications

Nilsen, K., N'Diaye, A., MacLachlan, P.R., Clarke, J., Ruan, Y., Cuthbert, R.D., Knox, R., Wiebe, K., Cory, A.T., Beres, B.L., Graf, R., Sharpe, A., and Pozniak, C.J. 2016. High density mapping of the major stem-solidness locus SSt1 in durum and common wheat. 3rd Canadian Wheat Symposium, Ottawa, ON, Canada, November 22-25, 2016.
2016 - View publication details
Laroche, A., Frick, M., Amundsen, E., Aboukhaddour, R., Randhawa, H., Graf, R., Larsen, J., Gaudet, D. 2016. Toward a contig reduction in genomic assembly of Puccinia striiformis f. sp. tritici isolate SWS484 (Feature Presentation). 37th Annual Meeting of the Plant Pathology Society of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Nov 7-9, 2016. O, pp8.
2016 - View publication details
Humphreys G, Zi Y, Graf R, Kalikililo A, Langille L, Dion Y, Fregeau-Reid J (2016) Effect of cultivar and environment on end-use quality of Canadian winter wheat. ASA-CSSA-SSSA Meeting, Nov. 6-9, 2016, Phoenix, AZ, USA. P332-907.
2016 - View publication details
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2016 - View publication details
Zi Y, Humphreys G, Kalikililo A, Graf R, Dion Y, Fregeau-Reid J (2016) Effect of cultivar and environment on end-use quality of winter wheat in Canada. CSA-CSHS Conference Presentation, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, July 24-26.
2016 - View publication details
Graf, R.J., Beres, B.L., Gaudet, D.A., Thomas, J.B., Butts, R.A. (2016). AAC Wildfire hard red winter wheat. Canadian Journal of Plant Science, [online] 97(1), 183-191. http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/cjps-2016-0155
2016 - View publication details
Laroche, A., Frick, M., Buckoll P., Amundsen, E., Randhawa, H., Graf, R., Gaudet, D. 2016. Regulation of gene expression in incompatible/compatible reactions between stripe rust isolates from western Canada and wheat. 13th European Conference of Fungal Genetics, April 3-6, 2016, Paris, France. CS2M84.
2016 - View publication details
Laroche, A., Frick, M., Puchalski, B., Amundsen, E.J., Puchalski, B., Randhawa, H.S., Graf, R.J., and Gaudet, D.A. (2015). "Characterization of Stripe Rust Isolates from Western Canada Using NGS.", XXIII Plant and Animal Genome Conference, San Diego, CA, USA, January 10-14, 2015, pp. P0467.
2015 - View publication details
Laroche, A., Frick, M., Xu, Y., Amundsen, E.J., Puchalski, B., Randhawa, H.S., Graf, R.J., and Gaudet, D.A. (2015). "Contig reduction in genomic assembly of Pst isolates from Western Canada.", Borlaug Global Rust Initiative Workshop, Sydney, Australia, September 17-20, 2015, pp. 107. (Abstract)
2015 - View publication details
Dhariwal, G.K., Verma, S., Frick, M., Amundsen, E.J., Schussler, M., Frick, M.J., Kundrik, K., Graf, R.J., Randhawa, H.S., Gaudet, D.A., and Laroche, A. (2015). "Does a drought stress enhance regulation of pathogenesis-related genes in wheat?", 9th International Wheat Conference 2015, Sydney, Australia, September 20-25, 2015, pp. 164. (Abstract)
2015 - View publication details
Graf, R.J. (2015). "Winter wheat breeding update.", 2015 Saskatchewan Winter Cereals Development Commission Annual General Meeting, Saskatoon, Canada, January 12, 2015, Invited Presentation.
2015 - View publication details
Frick, G., Frick, M., Graf, R.J., and Laroche, A. (2015). "Toward the identification of Cmc1 in wheat, a resistance gene against wheat curl mite, the vector of wheat streak mosaic virus.", 36th Annual Meeting of the Plant Pathology Society of Alberta, Lethbridge, AB, Canada, November 16-18, 2015, Oral presentation, pp. 17. (Abstract)
2015 - View publication details
Dhariwal, R., Randhawa, H.S., Graf, R.J., Laroche, A., and Gaudet, D.A. (2015). "Towards identification of new sources of stripe rust resistance in spring wheat.", 36th Annual Meeting of the Plant Pathology Society of Alberta, Lethbridge, AB, Canada, November 16-18, 2015, Oral presentation, pp. 29. (Abstract)
2015 - View publication details
Laroche, A., Buckoll, P., Frick, M., Xu, Y., Amundsen, E.J., Puchalski, B., Randhawa, H.S., Graf, R.J., Fobert, P., and Gaudet, D.A. (2015). "Regulation of Pst and wheat genes in incompatible and compatible reactions.", Borlaug Global Rust Initiative Workshop, Sydney, Australia, September 17-20, 2015, pp. 101. (Abstract)
2015 - View publication details
Ryabova, D., Randhawa, H.S., Bihari, L., Eudes, F., Spaner, D.M., Hucl, P.J., Graf, R.J., Prus, J., Amundsen, E.J., and Foroud, N.A. (2015). "Production of double haploids with resistance to Fusarium mycotoxins.", 36th Annual Meeting of the Plant Pathology Society of Alberta, Lethbridge, AB, Canada, November 16-18, 2015.
2015 - View publication details
Humphreys, D.G., Cao, W., Kalikililo, A., Langille, L., McCartney, C.A., Blackwell, B.A., and Graf, R.J. (2015). "Enhancing Tools for Fusarium Resistance Breeding in Canadian Winter Wheat.", 2015 National Fusarium Head Blight Forum, St. Louis, MO, USA, December 6-8, 2015. (Poster)
2015 - View publication details
Frick, M., Buckoll, P., Amundsen, E.J., Puchalski, B., Randhawa, H.S., Graf, R.J., Fobert, P., Gaudet, D.A., and Laroche, A. (2015). "Differential gene expression in incompatible/compatible reactions between Pst and wheat.", 36th Annual Meeting of the Plant Pathology Society of Alberta, Lethbridge, AB, Canada, November 16-18, 2015, pp. 14. (Abstract)
2015 - View publication details
Salmon, D.F., Helm, J.H., Graf, R.J., Albers, S., Aljarrah, M., Xi, K., Oro, M., Lohr, S., Bergen, C. (2015). Pintail general purpose winter wheat. Canadian Journal of Plant Science, [online] 95(6), 1271-1276. http://dx.doi.org/10.4141/CJPS-2015-165
2015 - View publication details
Hucl, P., Briggs, C., Graf, R.J., Chibbar, R.N. (2015). Genetic gains in agronomic and selected end-use quality traits over a century of plant breeding of Canada western red spring wheat. Cereal Chemistry, [online] 92(6), 537-543. http://dx.doi.org/10.1094/CCHEM-02-15-0029-R
2015 - View publication details
Randhawa, H.S., Graf, R.J., Fox, S.L., Sadasivaiah, R.S. (2015). AAC proclaim general purpose spring wheat. Canadian Journal of Plant Science, [online] 95(6), 1265-1269. http://dx.doi.org/10.4141/CJPS-2015-006
2015 - View publication details