U of S wheat variety growing in space
Posted November 10, 1997
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - November 8, 1997
97-11-06-AG
University of Saskatchewan wheat
variety growing in space
The slogan under which CDC Teal bread wheat is marketed
by Value Added Seeds of Lumdsden, SK, Higher, Stronger,
Faster, has taken on a new meaning.
A group of students from the Brunskill Elementary School in
Saskatoon devised an experiment to study the effects of
zero gravity on wheat seed germination. The seed in
question was sent to the Mir space station via a NASA
space shuttle in September and is scheduled to return to
earth in January. The students want to know whether zero
gravity alters the wheat seed coat, possibly speeding up
the germination process. The seed is to be tested in
February with the results being made available by May.
It is fitting that the first Canadian wheat to head into the
cosmos was developed in Saskatchewan. The seed used by
the Saskatoon students belongs to the variety CDC Teal.
The variety CDC Teal is a high protein bread wheat variety
that was developed by the Crop Development Centre at the
University of Saskatchewan and first grown commercially
in 1994. CDC Teal performs particularly well in the black
and dark brown soil zones of Saskatchewan where it out-
yields the recently released, later-maturing variety, AC
Barrie.
For more information please contact:
Pierre Hucl
Crop Development Centre
University of Saskatchewan
(306) 966-8667
