Decision factors influencing new variety adoption in western Canada by the seed industry

Abstract In the agricultural sector, innovation is a vital economic driver for increasing food production. New crop varieties are developed and commercialized, greatly contributing to improved global food security through higher yields, improved nutrition and climate resiliency. Canada is a competitive and innovative actor in the global seed market. This article quantifies the degree of improvement for numerous crop traits required for commercialization success. We use empirical data from seed producers in the prairies to identify their adoption criteria to multiply new seed varieties. Results show that yield potential, disease resistance and lodging resistance are the key traits for pedigreed seed growers regardless of crop type, while other agronomic traits depend on the crop type. Quality factors such as malting or milling properties for cereals, protein content for pulses and oil content for oilseeds are also part of the variety selection decision process for prairie pedigreed seed growers.


Introduction
Over the past century, the seed industry has witnessed dramatic changes as public and private investments have increased and property rights on commercial seed became available (e.g., Bonny 2017; Carew et al. 2017). Seed for planting has evolved from being an on-farm sourced input from seed saved from the previous harvest to an off-farm input purchased from seed businesses or retailers. Substantial portions of research and development (R&D) in plant breeding have shifted to the private sector with the development of hybrid seed technologies, such as in canola and corn (Phillips 2007). Targeted research in plant biotechnology resulted in the production of new plant varieties with desirable traits, including herbicide tolerance, insect and disease resistance, and improved quality. In the USA, for instance, these efforts have translated into increased numbers of plant variety protection certificates, including those for seed. In Canada, those certificates are known as plant breeders' rights (PBR). Hence, seed certification ties to seed innovation. Seed certification systems are mechanisms of quality assurance, seed multiplication and commercial production that aim to ensure seed genetic identity and genetic purity through field inspections, pre-and post-control tests and seed quality tests.
Continuous increases in crop production are contingent on improved varieties developed via R&D investments through an array of public, private and public-private partnerships (Smyth et al. 2021). Owing to its seed certification system, Canada is world renowned as a leading producer and supplier of high quality certified seed for a wide range of crops. Since the 1960s, thousands of different seed crops, including cereals, oilseeds, pulses, forages, turf grasses and special crops, have been registered in Canada. 1 Variety registration refers to the process of officially verifying that a seed variety is new, distinguishable from other varieties, and stable. The variety registration system also ensures Canadian health and safety requirements are met by new varieties. Although multiple crop varieties are supported for registration every year by commodity recommending committees and registered by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency's (CFIA) Variety Registration Office, little is known about what motivates pedigreed 2 seed growers to adopt particular seed varieties for multiplication.
Empirical studies on seed licensing, production behaviour and associated drivers are lacking in the Canadian context. This article contributes to this knowledge gap by providing insights on what factors shape the decision to produce a new crop variety for commercial seed sales in Canada. Specifically, the objective of the article is to learn what level of trait enhancement in terms of yield parameters, crop nutrient uptake, stress amelioration and earlier crop maturity is required by the certified seed sector to consider licensing and adopting new varieties. This article focuses on the Canadian prairie provinces of Alberta (AB), Saskatchewan (SK) and Manitoba (MB). An online survey was used to collect responses from pedigreed seed growers and seed companies who hold responsibility for maintaining high quality seed through different stages and periods to be free from various contaminants and in healthy condition. Crop varieties and crop rotations have changed due to R&D investments, such as with the commercialization of pulse and lentil crops, as well as herbicide tolerant canola and lentil and insect tolerant wheat. As changing climates continue to impact crop production, these results provide breeders with greater clarity about the varietal traits required to ensure successful commercialization.

Historic and economic overview of the seed industry
Historical overview of seed certification In North America, seed certification began in the early 1900s when new varieties developed from American state land-grant colleges and government experiment stations were introduced to farmers in random and often inequitable ways (Copeland and McDonald 2001). These varieties were often contaminated (e.g., mixed with off-type seed varieties and weed seeds) or of poor quality (purity and vigour). 3 In an effort to improve seed quality, organizations were formed between 1900 and 1920 in various American states through which seeds of new "college-bred" varieties were distributed to farmers, later becoming known as crop improvement associations or seed certification agencies (Copeland and McDonald 2001). Over time, seed certification became an established process for increasing and producing high-quality seed of improved varieties developed by the public sector (Copeland and McDonald 2001). The basic principles of certification, standards and operating procedures were developed between 1900 and 1970 (Parsons 1985).
In Canada, the CFIA is the federal agency responsible for administration and enforcement of the Seeds Act--which sets out the broad parameters of Canada's seed regulatory framework, and Seeds Regulations--which detail the requirements for compliance. Both the Seeds Act and Seeds Regulations aim at protecting producers and consumers from misrepresentation, preventing the use of low quality seed and creating a level playing field for companies and individuals in seed production (Government of Canada 2021). Established in 1904, the Canadian Seed Growers' Association (CSGA) is the national body responsible for prescribing varietal purity standards and certifying all agricultural crops except potatoes as per the federal Seeds Act and Regulations. The CSGA has regional branches that represent the interests of its local pedigreed members. Since establishment in 1905, both the Seeds Act and Seed Regulations have undergone occasional amendments.

Economic overview of the seed sector
The global seed market was valued at US$63 billion in 2021 and is projected to hit US$87 billion by 2026, a compound annual growth rate of 6.6% (ReportLinker 2021). The Cana-dian seed industry includes over 150 seed companies and 3500 pedigreed seed producers. The seed sector contributes over C$6 billion in annual economic activity, employs more than 63 000 Canadians (seed farmers, plant breeders, intellectual property lawyers, etc.) and exports more than C$640 million annually (Seeds Canada 2022). National and international seed sales reached C$3.5 billion in 2017-2018. Saskatchewan's pedigreed seed industry was worth an estimated C$790 million to the province's economy and is the foundation of an C$11 billion provincial crop industry in 2020. 4 Commercialization of new varieties with improved yield and disease resistance, and other desired attributes required by buyers of pedigreed seeds, are essential to enable continued competitiveness of the agri-food sector in both domestic and export markets.
Plant breeding is a key driver of agricultural innovation where cutting-edge technologies are used to advance seed improvement. The seed innovation industry represents over C$3.2 billion in annual sales in Canada. The 2018 Snapshot of Private Innovation Investment in Canada's Seed Sector projected that total research investment in plant breeding, research and varietal development will grow to C$179 million by 2022, a 56% increase since 2012 (Canadian Seed Trade Association 2018). This investment growth is predominant in canola (52%), soybean (13%), wheat (12%), corn (11%), pulses (8%) and barley (2%). Using modern breeding technologies, the private sector invests in most new varieties of canola, corn and soybean as hybrid crops and (or) patent protected traits, which affords them effective intellectual property rights. The public sector heavily invests in cereal and pulse crops protected by PBRs as they are self-replicating and exhibit high use of farmer saved seed (JRG Consulting Group and SJT Solution 2018).
The global private seed industry has witnessed a significant consolidation since the 1990s. Mergers and acquisitions of agricultural and chemical companies have attracted investments in new seed varieties. This led to increased concentration with a few major chemical and seed technology development corporations--mainly Corteva Agriscience, Bayer Crop Science, KWS SAAT SE & Co. KGaA, Group Limagrain and Syngenta Ag--currently dominating the agricultural input market (Mordor Intelligence 2020; Torshizi and Clapp 2021).

Overview of the Canadian variety approval regulations
The Seeds Act governs variety registration and pedigreed seed certification processes. Variety registration focuses on verifying the characteristics and (or) assessing the agricultural merit of a new variety of a certain crop. In concert with the CFIA, recommending committees consisting of representatives of the entire value chain, evaluate whether candidate crop varieties submitted for registration are at least equivalent to the historically referenced varieties or "check variety". New candidate cultivars of many crop kinds are subject to testing based on crop-specific agronomic, quality and disease resistance standards. In Canada, new varieties must at least be equivalent to the existing "check variety", but in reality, new varieties often exceed the "check variety". All species, kinds or types of crops requiring variety registration prior to being sold are listed in Schedule III of the Seeds Regulations (Justice Laws Website 2022). Recommending committees 5 exist for the majority of leading crop types.
Pedigreed seed certification, administered by the CSGA, is a regulatory requirement that tracks the pedigree of seed from a particular variety's original breeder stock through subsequent generations of multiplication (BFICSS 2014). It guarantees varietal identity, adhering to specific quality standards (varietal purity, disease presence and weed seed contamination) during the multiplication stages. Schedule II of the Seeds Regulations lists all crops requiring pedigreed seed certification to be sold by variety name. Some crops such as alfalfa, barley, and oat can appear in both Schedule III and Schedule II and require both variety registration and pedigreed seed certification. If a variety of those crops is registered, but the seed does not meet pedigreed standards, it cannot be sold by name but rather as "common" seed identifying the crop kind or market class (BFICSS 2014). Pedigreed seed is usually labelled with a blue certification tag and commands a premium in the market.
Certification includes four generations or classes from breeder seed: select, foundation, registered and certified. Breeder seed is developed by the plant breeder (institution, firm or an individual) and is the source seed of the pedigreed classes (Cowan 1972). Unique to the Canadian certification system, select seed is the approved progeny of breeder or select seed produced in a manner to ensure its specific identity and purity and is not a commercial product 6 ( Fig. 1). Foundation and registered seed is the progeny of breeder, select or foundation seed, and both are the source of other certified seed classes. Certified seed is the progeny of breeder, select, foundation or registered seed, and it is the first generation seed removed from foundation and (or) registered seed (Cowan 1972). Certified seed is true-to-type that retains all the benefits developed by the plant breeder as the seed is multiplied over a specific number of generations. The multiplication of these classes or grades is subject to stringent production requirements by the CSGA, guaranteeing that off-types, weeds and other crop kinds are kept to a minimum (typically less than 1% and often 0.5%) to ensure the genetic purity of the seed.

Methodology
A structured survey was conducted online between July 2021 and June 2022, collecting data using purposive sampling targeting pedigreed seed growers and seed firms located in the Prairies (see Appendix 1 for an overview of the survey design). The CSGA promoted the distribution of the survey to its members by sharing the survey link in their monthly newsletter for July and November 2021. 7 The research team generated a database of seed firms and pedigreed seed growers (722 emails) located in the Prairies using information from seed guides, Secan.com and Seednet.ca. Email invitations were sent to those contacts along with bi-weekly reminders. Participants involved in the seed business and located in SK, AB or MB (inclusion criterion) were eligible to take part in the survey if they could provide informed consent. Invitations to potential survey respondents erred on the side of inclusion as it was very possible that invitations were sent to firms that would not qualify to be participants. To ensure that respondents were relevant to the seed sector, two screening questions were used. Those that failed the screening questions (were not located in the Prairies and not a seed grower or a seed firm) were not allowed to participate.
The study (Beh 2691) was approved by the University of Saskatchewan Behavioural Research Ethics Board. The survey presented participants with a standard consent statement describing the study, identifying the absence of known risks associated with participation and a reminder that participation was voluntary and responses would be anonymous and confidential. Upon expression of consent, participants were presented with the questionnaire. Participants who completed the survey were entitled to C$100 in compensation for their time and input. The remuneration was mailed as a cheque or e-transferred depending on the respondent's preference.
The first part of the questionnaire invited participants to provide information about their seed business including the seed varieties licensed or grown. The second part asked participants about different agronomic traits (e.g., average yield increase, number of days earlier maturity, increase in insect and (or) disease resistance) and quality traits (e.g., increase in oil, protein and moisture content) that might shape the decision to produce a new seed variety. Demographics were collected at the end.

Data analysis
Sample seed business profile The data were drawn from a sample size of 155 seed producers, including 17 seed firms and 138 pedigreed seed growers, a response rate of 21.5%. As displayed in Table 1 The approved progeny of Breeder, Select, Foundation or Registered seed produced by seed growers and so managed to maintain varietal identity and purity. It is the class of seed recommended for commercial crop production

Certified
The approved progeny of Breeder, Select or Foundation seed produced by seed growers and so managed to maintain specific varietal identity and purity.

Registered
The approved progeny of Breeder or Select seed produced by seed growers and so managed to maintain its specific varietal identity and purity.

Foundation
The approved progeny of Breeder or Select seed produced in a manner by seed growers authorized by the CSGA to maintain its varietal identity and purity. Select seed may be produced from Select seed for a maximum of five multiplications from Breeder seed.

Select
Seed recognized by the CSGA as being seed of a variety (cultivar) that has been produced by a recognized plant breeder, or a plant breeder responsible for the maintenance of the variety, under conditions which have ensured that the specific traits of the variety have been maintained. It is the source for the initial and recurring increases of seed for the pedigreed classes. of the participants are located in AB, 36% in SK and 26% in MB. Thirty-two % of respondents indicated they have been engaged in pedigreed seed production for 20 years or less. Thirty-four % of the sample have been in business for 20-40 years, and 34% for over 40 years. The majority of surveyed pedigreed seed producers (72%) operated as a corporation; partnership was tied with sole proprietorship at 13%. 8 Fifty-eight % of participants owned all or most of their land, 7% rented all or most of the land and 29% indicated that similar amounts of the land were owned and rented. 9 The average farm size for pedigreed seed production was 1892 acres with the largest operation accounting for 4047 hectares (10 000) acres and the smallest 28 hectares (70 acres). Over the past decade, 45% of the respondents indicated that their seed production area increased, 43% said it stayed about the same, and 11% stated it decreased. 10 To optimize yield, 53% of respondents indicated they practiced precision 8 2% selected: other. 9 8% selected: not applicable. 10 1% selected: prefer not to say. agriculture, including calibrated auto-steering guidance system, yield monitors, satellite images and soil mapping.

Breeder
Results show that most of the pedigreed seed was sold in the Prairies (91%) and 2% to the rest of Canada. Only 7% of seed was exported (2% offshore and 5% to the USA). This result seems surprising considering the volume of Canadian seed exports. This is explained by the fact that seed companies and multinational firms, which are key players in the trade and export of certified seed, were under-represented in our sample. Pedigreed seed growers are usually contracted by those firms to produce seed for them.
Sixty % (n = 93) of respondents indicated they did not license variety seed from any breeding institutions. Those pedigreed seed growers are usually contracted by seed companies to multiply seed and deliver on production contracts under which they commit to a number of requirements (crop, species, varieties, quantity produced, etc.). Twenty-one % and 23% of respondents licensed new varieties of seed from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada and the Crop Development Centre at the University of Saskatchewan, respectively. Seven % did so from Alberta's Field Crop Development Centre, and another 7% from the University of Alberta. Less than 5% secured the rights of new varieties from firms such as Syngenta Seeds Canada, Nutrien Ag Solutions or Bayer Crop Science. Among those who licensed varieties (40%, n = 62), 74% indicated they are satisfied or very satisfied with the variety developed by the breeders. 11 Additionally, most pedigreed seed growers were neutral or satisfied with the cost of seed. 11 16% were dissatisfied or very dissatisfied, and 10% were neither dissatisfied nor satisfied.  Eighty % of surveyed seed producers were a shareholder/member of a seed company/distributor from which they obtained new varieties of seed, mainly Secan (91%), FP Genetics (51%), Canterra (50%), Alliance Seed Corporation (32%), SeedNet (24%) and Seed Depot (21%). Sixty-seven % of the sample acted as a sole distributor/retailer who sell certified seed to farmers. They represent mainly Secan, FP Genetics and Canterra.

Types of seed crop production
Surveyed seed producers licensed/produced 12 mainly cereals (89%, n = 138), pulses (68%, n = 106), oilseeds (38%, n = 59) and forages (22%, n = 34). Certified, registered and foundation seed were the predominant seed classes for these four crop types of interest (Table 2). Breeder class seed comes directly from plant breeders is produced in small quantities and is the parent seed of all other classes of pedigreed seed. Breeder seed is unique in that it has no generation limits, meaning that the breeder can retain some of the seed produced from breeder seed and used as breeder seed the subsequent year, rather than being classified as select seed, provided CSGA guidelines for this are adhered to. Select seed is not a com-mercial seed and is used to produce foundation seed. Certified seed, the main seed class of commerce, is grown from either the source seed classes of foundation and registered, or from certified seed.

Cereals
Wheat (92%) was the most widely grown cereal type among surveyed seed producers, followed by barley (75%) and oat (56%) as illustrated in Fig. 2. Canadian wheat varieties are clustered into market classes by their functional features. Wheat classes are categorized as Canada Western or Canada Eastern by the regions in which the varieties are registered and grown. 13 As our study focuses on the Prairies, we asked pedigreed seed growers what western varieties (classes and names) they produce. Results in Fig. 3 show that Canada Western Red Spring (CWRS: 92%) is the most grown class by surveyed growers (n = 127), followed by Canada Prairie Spring Red (CPSR: 36%), Canada Western Amber Durum (CWAD: 24%), Canada Northern Hard Red (CNHR: 22%) and Canada Western Red Winter (CWRW: 21%).
Based on end use, barley is used for malting, food and general purpose (primarily used for animal feed). Only varieties  on the malting barley designation list 14 are eligible for the malting grades. Less than a quarter of commercial barley production, regardless of the variety grown, is selected for malting each year, with the rest used domestically as livestock feed, exported as feed barley or selected for food. Results show that varieties of malting (75%) and feed barley (79%) were widely grown by surveyed seed producers (n = 103). Fifty-six % of pedigreed seed growers produced oat, and a small proportion produced rye (15%), triticale (15%) and canary seed (12%).

Oilseeds
As shown on Fig. 5, surveyed oilseed pedigreed seed growers (n = 59) produced mostly flax (67%), soybean (33%) and canola (24%). Less than 10% of them produced rapeseed, mustard and sunflower (Fig. 5). Most flax pedigreed seed growers (n = 30) produced oilseed flax (97%). While there is more  canola sold than flaxseed, this inconsistency could be explained by the fact that pedigreed canola seed growers are under-represented in the sample. Alternatively, with canola seed in Canada being privately developed and sold, seed growers are contracted to produce seed, all of which is returned to the developer for sale to farmers. The practices common to the canola seed industry are a large factor contributing to the significance of flax as reported by pedigreed seed producers.

Frequency of seed production
Repeated seeding of the same crop kind in the same field leads to a build-up of pests, weeds and diseases that can be difficult to control for many crops. Evidence shows that diversification of crop varieties in crop rotations improves yield, reduces insect and disease pressure and optimize soil nutrient utilization (Shah et al. 2021). A combination of factors, including environmental (e.g., climatic condition, soil fertility, topography and water quality), biological (diseases, insects, pests and weeds), technological (agricultural practices, managerial decision, etc.) and economical (farmer's economic condition, market price and fertilizer availability), influences crop rotation, and thus the frequency of growing a particular crop kind or seed variety.
Results in Table 3 report the frequency of producing a new variety and show that most pedigreed wheat seed growers did so every year or 2, and most pedigreed barley and oat seed growers did so every 2 or 3 years. For pulses, field pea seed is multiplied mostly every 2 or 3 years, lentil every 2, 3 or 5 years and faba bean every 4 or 5 years. For oilseeds, flax seed is mostly grown every other year, whereas soybean Grasses 36  every year or 2. Finally, seed of grasses is grown every 5 years. Results suggest that frequency of growing seed is crop type specific.

Seed traits
To register a new variety in Canada, a number of agronomic and quality attributes must be met. We asked survey participants about the importance of different agronomic and quality traits in their decision to produce a new seed variety.

Agronomic traits and seed enhancement levels
Results in Table 4 show that yield is the primary agronomic trait most surveyed seed producers (>70%) identified as being the key factor of variety selection decisions across all crop types. Indeed, pedigreed seed growers are mainly paid for yield, a current breeding priority in Canada. Yield potential is associated with other traits such as resistance to diseases and to lodging that come as other critical factors in the variety selection decision for pedigreed cereal, pulse and oilseed growers. Lodging is the bending over of stems, which affects harvesting and crop health (nutrient density). Inadequate standing power of the crop combined with environmental conditions (rain, wind, hail, topography, etc.) contribute to lodging, which results in lower yields. Pod shattering tolerance is also highly important for most pedigreed pulse and oilseed growers. Shattering is the dispersal/release of seeds upon maturation and prior to harvest, which also affects mechanical harvesting and can be a major cause for yield loss in crops (Dong and Wang 2015). Like lodging, severe environmental conditions (e.g., hailstorms and strong winds) can increase yield losses caused by pod shattering. As such, yield is negatively associated with lodging and pod shattering: reduced lodging and shattering increase yield as they contribute to harvest efficiencies (straight cutting). Lodging resistance in modern cultivars (e.g., cereals) has been improved mostly by reducing plant height and increasing stalk and stem strength (Kamran et al. 2018;Niu et al. 2021). Herbicide tolerance is also a highly important for most pedigreed oilseed growers.
Other agronomic characteristics such as drought tolerance, excessive moisture tolerance, insect resistance, plant height and days to maturity have a moderate to high importance for pedigreed seed growers' decision on which to select new varieties of cereals, pulses, and oilseeds. Those traits affect  Yield potential  137  1  5  94  104  --9  91  58  --10  90  33  9  18  73   Disease resistance  137  4  23  73  105  2  18  80  58  12  26  62  29  24  41  35   Drought tolerance  133  18  47  35  102  19  50  31  58  17  52  31  29  27  52  21   Excessive moisture tolerance  131  30  46  24  100  25  36  39  55  38  42  20  29  35  41  24   Salinity tolerance  130  56  30  14  101  57  27  16  55  66  18  16  28  32  47  21   Herbicide tolerance  125  58  30  12  99  38  33  28  54  17  29  54  26  65  23  12   Frost tolerance  128  45  37  18  98  46  44  33  54  39  32  29  29  55  24  21   Insect resistance  132  26  50  24  98  34  49  17  53  34  40  26  28  40  the quality of the seed generally reflected by seed vigour: the ability of the seed to germinate quickly, emerge and establish healthy seedlings. For instance, harvesting at the proper time is a key factor to obtaining high vigour seeds. Early harvesting may result in immature seeds, while delayed harvest increases the potential damage from fall frost or excessive rain during seed pre-harvest processes (Fu et al. 2017). As such, the number of days to maturity is important in growers' decision to adopt a new variety. Results also show that frost tolerance is moderately important for pedigreed pulse seed growers, and salinity tolerance is moderately important for forage seed producers. Head awnedness appears to be the least important botanical characteristic regardless of the crop type. Awns, extensions of lemma, are a characteristic feature of wheat spikes. Depending on the crop type and the environmental conditions, awns may contribute to yield potential by improving adaptation to abiotic stresses, water-use efficiency and thermo-tolerance (e.g., Weyhrich et al. 1994;Ntakirutimana et al. 2019;Ntakirutimana and Xie 2020). The trivial importance of head awnedness may suggest that awned and awnless varieties grown in the Prairies are already well adapted to their growing environment, and hence the trait is not a critical botanical characteristic for seed producers. Similarly, salinity, herbicide and frost tolerance are of slight importance for at least half of pedigreed cereal seed growers. Salinity and frost tolerance are of minor importance to pedigreed pulse seed growers. Salinity and resistance to sprouting are not critical factors for pedigreed oilseed growers' decision to produce a new variety. In summary, survey results indicate that agronomic attributes such as yield potential and disease resistance are equally important for all crop types whereas other traits are crop type specific. Results of Table 4 are summarized in Fig. 6.
Based on seed varieties produced in the last decade, the leading proportion of seed producers indicated that a 5% increase in yield (Table 5) and at least 1 • C improvement in  frost tolerance (Table 6) above the most recent check variety would encourage them to produce a new seed variety regardless of the crop type.  Most surveyed seed producers indicated that a moderate improvement in disease resistance and a slight to moderate improvement in insect resistance (Table 7) above the most recent check variety would incentivize them to produce a new seed variety of cereals, pulses and oilseeds. A small improvement in disease and insect resistance is appealing to forage seed producers. As to the number of days to maturity, a reduction of 2 or 3 days would incentivize most growers to produce a new seed variety of cereals (55%) and pulses (53%) ( Table 8). At least 1 day less would motivate oilseed and forage seed producers.
Quality traits and seed enhancement levels Results in Table 9 show that malting and milling qualities, protein content and test weight are key quality attributes for most surveyed cereal seed producers. CWRS is a hard wheat with high protein content and well-balanced gluten strength. It is Canada's most grown (hexaploid) spring wheat owing to stable yields, broad disease resistance and superior milling and baking attributes (Kumar et al. 2019). The CPSR class also offers good quality as a medium protein concentration wheat, and CWAD is characterized by high protein concentration, desirable gluten content, high yellow pigment content and high semolina yield. 16 Survey results also show that high protein levels (76%) in pulses and high oil content (82%) in oilseeds are critical traits 16 https://cerealscanada.ca/cereal-grains/wheat. for seed producer's decision to multiply a new seed variety. Pulses and oilseeds are naturally higher in protein and oil, respectively. Typically, there is an inverse relationship between oil and protein content for crops (Hossain et al. 2019). A combination of genetics and environmental factors impact the protein and oil content in seed. For example, quality factors, such as protein and oil content, are not taken into account when registering new soybean varieties in Canada (CGC 2020). Additionally, pulse growers are currently paid for yield (bushels per acre) not protein content, yet some protein fractionation companies have started to offer protein premiums (Alberta Seed Guide 2019). On the other hand, a 1% increase in oil or in protein levels would incentivize most surveyed seed producers to multiply a new seed variety (data not shown).

Varietal performance
When participants were asked whether varieties produced over the last decade lived up to their expectations regarding overall agronomic and quality performance, results show a positive response (n = 87) among 79% of cereal growers, 49% of pulse growers and only 24% of pedigreed oilseed growers. Yield and resistance to lodging, shattering and diseases were among the reasons stated by cereal producers. The same traits were highlighted earlier as the most critical traits growers consider in their decision to multiply a new variety. Surveyed pedigreed cereal seed growers who were not satisfied with the varieties explained that lower than expected yield, poor lodging resistance, and disease susceptibility were their major concerns. A surveyed cereal grower commented that: "Always came out of registration trials better than they did on the farm … not what was promised". Yield, standability and seed coat breakage that can impact harvest management were emphasized as key issues among surveyed pulse growers. A participant stated that: "Lentil yields have failed to improve significantly", and another simply commented: "No big changes". Pulse varieties that are more susceptible to seed coat breakage may need extra care during handling and at harvest to minimize mechanical damage. Often larger seeded varieties are more prone to seed coat breakage (Barker 2020). As for oilseeds, yield potential and disease resistance were the highlighted concerns. According to a participant: "Flax yield doesn't seem much or any better than varieties from 20 years ago". Overall, results show that choosing a variety within a crop kind/class was mainly based on a number of agronomic considerations. Although, yield is a primary Table 9. Importance of quality traits per crop type among surveyed seed producers (% of responses).  Test weight  132  18  39  43  97  43  32  25  55  42  26  32  24  58  25  17   Moisture content 124  61  31  3  87  59  35  6  53  66  26  8  27  78  15  7   Oil content  105  81  12  7  77  86  9  5  56  18  45  37  21  81  19  --Proteincontent  135  7  44  49  96  24  41  35  53  60  30  10  24  63  25  12   Malting qualities 123  23  29  48  73  89  7  4  39  85  8  7  21  95  5  --Milling qualities  129  13  36  51  84  45  35  20  47  60  25  15  20  100 ----Note: S, M and H refer to slightly, moderately and highly important.
consideration other performance improvements such as disease resistance or quality attributes that impact yield may be just as important for achieving higher returns.

Conclusion
High variety merit is key for seed producers as it helps with important crop input decisions, including the choice of the variety to grow. The Prairie pedigreed seed industry is mainly dominated by the production of CWRS wheat, field pea and flax. Seed agronomic performance is vital for seed producers as it determines their revenues and their profitability which in turn allows them to expand their business. Farmer attitudes towards the regular use of certified seed have changed over the past 20 years, in that if a farmer is not prepared to plant the best seed technology each year, superior yields should not be expected at harvest time. Our survey results show that yield and disease resistance are the primary traits in pedigreed seed grower's decisions to multiply new varieties of cereals, pulses or oilseeds. Other agronomic traits are also important and depend on the crop type grown. Lodging tolerance and pod shattering reduction technology are critical for pedigreed cereal, pulse and oilseed seed growers as they impact yield. Drought and excessive moisture tolerance, resistance to insects and to pre-harvest sprouting and days to maturity also shape pedigreed seed growers' decision to select new varieties as they impact yield, and thus the end quality of the certified seed. High malting and milling features, high levels of protein and oil are significant traits for pedigreed cereal, pulse and oilseed seed growers, respectively.
Trait enhancement in both agronomic and quality attributes motivate growers to multiply newer varieties. Surveyed pedigreed seed growers demanded at least a 5% increase in yield, moderate improvements in disease resistance and at least a 1% increase in protein and oil content as important factors in choosing new varieties. Most pedigree cereal and pulse seed growers would like to see higher quality (purity and vigour) seed with better agronomic variety performance on their operation.
These results provide valuable information to plant breeders about the varietal traits prairie growers seek in new varieties to ensure successful commercialization. Breeders putting forth new varieties that minimally exceed the check variety should not expect high rates of adoption, as the pedigreed seed industry will be unlikely to view these minimally enhanced varieties of being worthy of their investment and ability to ensure farmers adopt these varieties. New varieties are often marketed based on their increased yield potential, which is determined using small field plots, not large scale commercial production. As a result, yield increases at a large scale of 160, 320 or 640 acre field size are often masked due to field variability. The results of this survey illustrate the desirability of various traits and may assist plant breeders in their decision to bring elite lines forward for variety registration.