Purdue News

April 21, 2000 Oat and wheat group wins Agriculture Team Award WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – The Purdue University Small Grains Team, at the forefront of wheat and oat breeding for 50 years, has earned the Purdue Agriculture Team Award for 2000. The award carries a prize of $10,000 to help further research. Team members will receive the award from Dean of Agriculture Victor Lechtenberg during a ceremony at 2 p.m. Friday, May 5, in Room 116 of Whistler Hall on the Purdue campus. Team members are Herbert Ohm, team leader and professor of agronomy; Joseph Anderson, adjunct assistant professor of agronomy; Stephen Goodwin, adjunct assistant professor of botany and plant pathology; Don Huber, professor of plant pathology; Keith Perry, assistant professor of virology; Roger Ratcliffe, adjunct assistant professor of entomology; Gregory Shaner, professor of botany and plant pathology; Jeffrey Stuart, associate professor of entomology; and Christie Williams, adjunct assistant professor of entomology. The team works with Purdue and the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Agriculture Research Service. "This team is among the leading research programs in the world in DNA marker development for genes of interest in wheat improvement, especially host resistance to disease and insect pests," said William McFee, head of Purdue’s Department of Agronomy. Wheat developed from germ plasm created by the research team conservatively accounts for 50 percent to 60 percent of the wheat grown in Indiana and 25 percent of that grown in the Eastern Cornbelt and Kentucky, according to McFee. The crop lines and cultivars developed in the program have also been used worldwide in breeding and research. The group's wheat research also expanded the potential for double-cropping in the state. Production of soybeans after wheat harvest has been one of the most profitable cropping systems in Indiana, he said. "The accomplishments of this team are an excellent example of the synergistic effect of interdepartmental and interdisciplinary efforts when the contributors are unselfish in their efforts and generous in sharing the credit," said McFee. "They are richly deserving of the Agriculture Team Award." The multi-department effort was also recognized for its "teamwork" approach in attacking problems, according to Ray Martyn, head of Purdue's Department of Botany and Plant Pathology. "Seldom can people from such different specialties and administrative frameworks come together as a seamless unit to attack what is arguably one of the most complex problems in agriculture: multi-pest resistance combined with geographic adaptability, winter hardiness and yield," he said. Sources: William McFee, (765) 494-4774, wmcfee@purdue.edu Ray Martyn, (765) 494-4615, rmartyn@purdue.edu Writer: Tom Campbell, (765) 494-8084; tc@aes.purdue.edu Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu To the Purdue News and Photos Page