10/03/07 WSU seeking patent on Rhizoctonia resistant wheat

Washington Ag October 3, 2007 Washington State University is seeking international patent protection on Scarlet Rz1, a new spring wheat genotype with resistance to Rhizoctonia root rot, a yield-limiting root disease found world-wide. The disease can cut wheat yields by as much as 30 percent when conditions favor it, like in direct seeded spring wheat production. Kim Kidwell, interim WSU spring wheat breeder and associate dean of academic programs for the College of Agriculture, Human and Natural Resource Sciences, says Scarlet Rz1 is the first wheat they know of that has tolerance to Rhizoctonia. Kidwell: "There is quite a bit of interest because the disease is a major production problem for wheat in lots of areas where they are in high residue management, particularly where it is kind of dry. So the Australians are very excited about that opportunity because Rhizoc has really almost been more problematic for them than for us over time." Scarlet Rz1 was created by a chemical mutation and is not considered to be a genetically modified organism. Kidwell says WSU is incorporating the resistance into other varieties they are developing. She says ultimately they would like to clone it into other species where Rhizoctonia is also a problem, including ornamental plants as a means for preventing damping off disease. I'm Bob Hoff.