This was the 55th year of an ongoing, comprehensive project aimed at developing better wheat varieties for Colorado producers, led by Dr. Esten Mason. The project will focus on:

• Implementation of accelerated breeding procedures for line development (single seed descent, use of doubled haploids).
• Application of genomics-assisted breeding approaches (DNA marker-assisted selection and genomic selection).
• Milling and baking quality evaluation of variety trial samples and experimental lines from the breeding program.
• Introduction of genetic resistance to wheat stem sawfly (WSS) into hard red and hard white winter wheat germplasm.
• Introduction of genetic tolerance to imazamox (Beyond) herbicide and quizalofop (Aggressor) herbicide into hard red and hard white winter wheat germplasm.
• Validation and introgression of traits that contribute to enhanced productivity or promote identity-preserved marketing of hard white wheat.
• Maintenance and progression of gene-edited materials developed in Dr. Stephen Pearce’s former program that will have future utility