Our main objective is to be able to support marker assisted selection for increased SDS resistance in populations from several breeding programs within Illinois and Missouri. Specifically our objectives are:

1. To purchase a PCR-fluorimeter to facilitate marker assisted selection for disease resistance by PCR and disease organism detection in roots by PCR.
2. To develop techniques to screen thousands of plant lines with molecular markers within a single season. This capacity is necessary to support selection in several breeding programs.
3. To construct SDS resistance gene pyramids to generate superior SDS resistance in new commercial cultivars.
4. To rapidly detect and quantify pathogen infection severity in field samples of the superior cultivars.
5. To release commercial cultivars with proven superior SDS resistance identified by the SDS-Guard Trademark.