RDAR Provides Funds for Alberta RVT Program

Mar 10, 2023

RDAR, the Western Grains Research Foundation (WGRF) and Alberta Oat Growers Commission are making a $782,400 investment in the Alberta Regional Variety Trials (RVT) program, a March 9 news release said. RDAR’s funding contribution for this research project is valued at $582,300 over three years.

“Every farmer knows how different varieties can perform from one stretch of the province to the next,” Nate Horner, Alberta minister of agriculture and irrigation, said in the release. “Regional variety trials are small in size, but large in impact. These trials and the data they generate will help producers across Alberta make more informed decisions.”

The release noted RVTs are independently conducted field trials on small test plots at multiple sites across Alberta. The trials compare the performance of newly registered wheat, barley, oat, flax, and triticale varieties with the performance of well-known cultivars.

“RVT data supports Alberta crop producers in making decisions on which new varieties to grow based on their performance across Alberta,” Clinton Dobson, RDAR research director, said in the release.

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Video: Root Exudates, Soil Biology, and How Plants Recruit Microbes | Field Talk Friday

Field Talk Friday | Dr. John Murphy | Root Exudates, Soil Biology, and How Plants Recruit Microbes

Most of us spend our time managing what we can see above ground—plant height, leaf color, stand counts, and yield potential. But the deeper you dig into agronomy, the more you realize that some of the most important processes driving crop performance are happening just millimeters below the surface.

In this episode of Field Talk Friday, Dr. John Murphy continues the soil biology series by diving into one of the most fascinating topics in modern agronomy: root exudates and the role they play in shaping the microbial world around plant roots.

Roots are not passive structures simply pulling nutrients out of the soil. They are active participants in the underground ecosystem. Plants constantly release compounds into the soil—sugars, amino acids, organic acids, and other molecules—that act as both energy sources and signals for soil microbes.