Design the Cropping System to Minimize Niches for Weed Growth (Aug 11) - Mark Schonbeck - Weed prevention begins at the planning stage of any cropping system. Plan the crop rotation and cropping system to keep the soil fully occupied by desired living vegetation, or at least covered by organic residues, as much of the year as possible.

Student researches organic wheat lines (Apr 08)- Todd Reid, a PhD student at the University of Alberta in Edmonton, was awarded the Organic Crop Improvement Association Research and Education (OCIA R&E) 2008 Scholarship for research on crop breeding for competitive organic spring wheat.

Spaner lab scores hat trick at Organic Connections (Jan 07) - Graduate students Todd Reid, Alison Nelson and Heather Mason were recognized for the quality of their research posters at Organic Connections 2006. The students’ excellence is a credit to Dean Spaner from the University of Alberta, who supervises all three. Dean’s research group focuses on agronomy and breeding of wheat for organic production.

Breeding for organic production (Nov 03) - Would farmers benefit from crop breeding that targets organic production? Over the last 50 years, new crop varieties have been tested primarily under high input systems. This emphasis has selected for crops that integrate well with conventional agricultural products. Traits that especially suit varieties to organic production may have been overlooked.