Innovation that feeds the world

Jorge Dubcovsky, Ph.D., a worldrenowned plant geneticist who leads the UC Davis wheat breeding program, develops genetic resources for improving the yield, disease-resistance and nutritional value of wheat — one of the most widely grown cereal crops on the planet. Global demand for wheat continues to increase dramatically, up nearly 20% from just
ten years ago (U.S. Wheat Associates Annual Report).
Wheat is a vital part of the farming
economy in California, grown from the
Imperial Valley in the south to the Klamath
Basin in the north, and from the inland
valleys to the coastal agricultural regions.
Due to California’s large size and
diverse climate, wheat can be planted
for harvest in both the fall and spring
seasons, depending on the region.
Dubcovsky’s ground-breaking work
has enabled researchers and breeders
around the world to accelerate the
development of more nutritious and
better-adapted wheat varieties.
Dubcovsky and his team have
released eleven distinct UC wheat
varieties, each protected by
InnovationAccess under U.S. Plant
Variety Protection, and licensed to
30 commercial entities.

Consistent with the land-grant mission
of UC Davis, wheat varieties released
out of Dubcovsky’s breeding program
are licensed only to the California wheat
industry during the first three years
following release, effectively providing
an economic advantage for the state.
InnovationAccess works closely with the
California Wheat Commission in setting
up licensing arrangements. After this
initial three-year period, licensing is
opened to other geographical areas
beyond California.
This year, Dubcovsky’s lab released the
‘Yurok’ wheat variety (UC Case 2016-066),
a semi-dwarf Hard Red Spring variety,
which offers a high-yielding plant and a
resulting grain with high protein content
and excellent bread-making quality.
This variety is resistant to current races
of stripe rust disease and is well adapted
to the Sacramento, San Joaquin and
Imperial Valleys in California