b'varieties. As of 2021, hes contributed to the development ofcommon factor in the careers of many successful scientists 76 wheat cultivars. The impact of his breeding for diseaseand breeders, Cuthbert says.resistance is seen in the highest adoption of two of theCurtis Pozniak credits Knox with mentoring him as a most disease-resistant cultivars in their respective classesyoung wheat breeder and encouraging him to take on theAAC Brandon at 38 per cent of acreage in 2021 androle of director of the University of Saskatchewans Crop Transcend, the first durum doubled haploid variety, at 35Development Centre.per cent.Theres no doubt that my own success as a scientist The current value of grain from cultivars Knox has hadand durum wheat breeder is due in part to Rons support a direct impact in the breeding of is over $1.5 billion, 70and mentorship. Hes mentored many post-doctoral fel-per cent from international trade. lows over his career, and several of these young scientists Aside from his contribution to wheat variety develop- have gone on to become industry leaders in science, ment and release, he is a well-respected scientist nation- breeding and academia, Pozniak says. ally and internationally. His publication record in appliedKnox says having strong curiosity is really important to genetics, genomics and biotechnology is substantial.leadership success in plant science. Knoxs research has resulted in the genetic dissection ofDedication and focusthose are some of the things many traits that are the current target of marker-assistedI learned from those who mentored me. That tends to selection by Canadian and international breeding pro- drive a person to put in the hard work that is needed in grams in both the public and private sectors.this field. Part of the mentoring process is to allow those His work to dissect the genetic and genomic basispeople that I supervise the freedom to make mistakes and of genetically complex resistances in wheat has beenlearn from their mistakes, Knox says. essential to the development of wheat varieties express- As scientists, theres a lot of pressure on us. ing durable resistance to diseases and insect pests. HePublishing is one; it takes an immense amount of time has optimized the use of doubled haploid technology injust managing research. Its something we have to fight wheat breeding, reducing the time needed for adaptedfor, just getting out into the field and experiencing whats varieties to reach farmers fields. Of the 50 bread wheatgoing on there or in the lab. cultivars co-developed by Knox, 11 were developed using doubled haploid technology. His work in the area of marker assisted selection has also translated into benefits to growers and the wheatThe next level of optical sorting. industry. AAC Viewfield, AAC Redberry and AAC Hockley were all developed using DNA markers for resistance toPowerful sortingFusarium head blight; AAC Wheatland and AAC Starbuck were selected to be resistant to the orange wheat blossomSORTEX H SpectaVision with MerlinAI midge using DNA marker technology to support selec-tion. AAC Goodwin (selected with a stem rust resistance marker) and AAC Concord (DNA marker selection for stem solidness) are also examples of the impact of Knoxs application of marker assisted selection on breeding.As Knox looks to the future of wheat research, he sees climate change as the big challenge researchers like him need to help breeders deal with.Having wheat varieties that are stable yielders and respond well under stress conditions is really important. Nutrient use efficiency is going to be a huge concern and big part of our focus moving ahead, Knox says.Wheat LeaderKnoxs role in wheat breeding has not only resulted in many cultivars with high impact, but in training the next generation of young scientists, says one of his protgs, AAFC Swift Current wheat breeder Richard Cuthbert,www.canseedequip.com whos worked alongside Knox since 2011.800-644-8397 As a young scientist and wheat breeder, Ive reallysales@canseedequip.com benefited from his experience and support. Ron has been a JANUARY 2023GERMINATION.CA 35'