DISCUSSION

    The implication of this research may be far reaching for wheat cultivar development in Canada.  The results show that agronomic advances have been made in improving wheat cultivars while at the same time no genetic erosion has occurred in breeding programs.  Wheat breeders have introduced non-adapted, foreign germplasm into breeding programs increasing the diversity in the gene pool, and thus, reducing any negative effects of genetic erosion.  This research may serve as a model by combining phenotypic and genotypic data for evaluating potential genetic erosion in other economically important crop species in Canada and the world.  My study is consistent with those of Donini et al. (2000), Christiansen et al.(2002), Fu et al. (2003), Fu et al. (2003) who suggested the reduction in the genetic diversity accompanying plant improvement would be negligible.  All these studies appear to refute the concern that modern plant breeding is increasing the risk to sustainable crop production by reducing diversity.