CAHNRS > Department of Crop and Soil Sciences > Profile

Profile

Arron Carter

Winter Wheat Breeding Program Professor and O.A. Vogel Endowed Chair of Wheat Breeding and Genetics ahcarter@wsu.edu 509-335-6198 ITB 3047 PO Box 646420, Pullman, WA 99164

Curriculum vitae (pdf)

Education

Ph.D., Washington State University, Crop Science, 2009
M.S., University of Idaho, Plant Science, 2006
B.S., University of Idaho, Plant Science, 2003

Research

I lead the winter wheat breeding and genetics program at Washington State University. My research is directed toward breeding improved wheat varieties for cropping systems in Washington state that incorporate diverse rotations and environments. Our goal is to release high-yielding, disease resistant varieties with good end-use quality that will maintain profitability and reduce the risk to growers. New varieties are developed using a combination of traditional plant breeding methods, molecular marker technology, and biotechnology. Research efforts include identifying genetic solutions to winter wheat production problems, thereby enhancing the sustainability of the Washington wheat industry. Farmer participation is utilized in the development of new varieties and in research planning. Current research topics involve developing water-use efficient wheat, adaptation of sensor based technology into wheat breeding programs, genetic understanding of end-use quality in wheat, and identification of new genes for stripe rust resistance.

Released Cultivars (pdf)

For more information about cultivars, please visit Washington Genetics.

Teaching Activities:

Instruction/Classes

Crop Science 445, Plant Breeding, 4 credits, Spring Semester (even years), Instructor, Washington State University.
Crop Science 425, Interdisciplinary Solutions in Plant Science [CAPS], 3 credits, Spring Semester (odd years), Instructor, Washington State University.
Crop Science 498, Research Internship, 1-3 credits, Instructor, Washington State University.
Crop Science 512, Field Plant Breeding, 3 credits, Summer/Fall Semester, Instructor, Washington State University.

Publications

Publications last 4 years, names in italics indicate graduate student or post-doctoral authors:

Veloo, K, Valencia-Ortiz M, Pumphrey MO, Carter AH, Garland-Campbell K, Sankaran S (2024) Performance comparison of in in-field multispectral and thermal sensor system with UAV imaging for wheat drought stress monitoring. (Computers and Electronics in Agriculture Submitted
Valencia-Ortiz M, McGee RJ, Carter AH, Sankaran S (2024) Variability in vegetation indices as a function of unmanned aerial vehicle flight altitudes and other factors during crop monitoring applications. CIGR International Submitted
Valencia-Ortiz M, McGee RJ, Carter AH, Sankaran S (2024) Role of radiometric correction as a function of UAV flight altitude and photogrammetry software on vegetation indices for crop monitoring. International Journal of Remote Sensing Submitted
Herr AW, Garland Campbell K, Li X, Carter AH (2024) Spatial analysis with UAS data in wheat breeding yield trials The Plant Phenome Journal In Revision (
Sandhu KS, Merrick L, Pumphrey MO, Carter AH (2024) Comparing performance of different statistical models and multiple threshold methods in a nested association mapping population of wheat. Frontiers in Plant Science 15:1460353 doi:10.3389/fpls.2024.1460353
Sangjan W, Carter AH, Pumphrey MO, Hagemeyer K, Jitkov V, Sankaran S (2024) Effect of high-resolution satellite and UAV imagery plot pixel resolution in wheat crop yield prediction. International Journal of Remote Sensing 45:1678-1698 doi:10.1080/01431161.2024.2313997
Herr AW, Schmuker P, Carter AH (2024) Large-scale breeding applications of UAS enabled genomic prediction. The Plant Phenome Journal 7:e20101 doi:10.1002/ppj2.20101
Montesinos-Lopez OA, Herr AW, Montesinos-Lopez A, Crossa J, Carter AH (2024) Enhancing winter wheat prediction with genomics, phenomics, and environmental data. BMC Genomics 25:544 doi:10.1186/s12864-024-10438-4
Thompson YA, Carter AH, Ward BP, Kiszonas AM, Morris CF (2023) Leveraging relatedness: genomic selection of soft white wheat cake quality using a historic database. Crop Science. In Revision
Herr AW, Adak A, Carroll ME, Elango D. Kar S, Li C, Jones AE, Carter AH, Murray SC, Paterson A, Sankaran S, Singh A, Singh AK (2023) UAS imagery for phenotyping in cotton, maize, soybean, and wheat breeding. Crop Science 63:1722-1749 doi:10.1002/csc2.21028
Herr AW, Carter AH (2023) A comparison of HTP platforms and potential challenges with field applications. Frontiers in Plant Science 14:1233892 doi:10.3389/fpls.2023.1233892
Dixon LS, Bellinger B, Carter AH (2023) A gravimetric method to monitor plant transpiration under water stress conditions. The Plant Phenome Journal 6:e20078 doi:10.1002/ppj2.20078
Chen C-PJ, Hu Y, Li X, Cannon A, Morris C, Delwhiche S, Carter A, Steber C, Zhang Z (2023) An independent validation reveals the potential to predict Hagberg-Perten falling number using spectrometers. The Plant Phenome Journal 6:e20070 doi:10.1002/ppj2.20070
Montesinos-Lopez OA, Herr AW, Crossa J, Carter AH (2023) Genomics combined with UAS data enhances prediction of grain yield in winter wheat. Frontiers in Genetics 14:1124218 doi:10.3389/fgene.2023.1124218
Phipps SN, Burke AB, Balow KA, Murray TD, Carter AH (2023) Registration of the PI 173438/WA 8137 Wheat Doubled Haploid Mapping Population. Journal of Plant Registrations 17:214-221 doi:10.1002/plr2.20228
Tang Z, Wang M, Schirrmann M, Dammer K-H, Li X, Brueggeman R, Sankaran S, Carter AH, Pumphrey M, Hu Y, Chen X, Zhang Z (2023) Affordable high throughput field detections of wheat stripe rust using deep learning based with semi-automatic image labeling. Computers and Electronics in Agriculture 207:107709 doi:10.1016/j.compag.2023.107709
Montesinos-Lopez OA, Carter AH, Sandoval DAB, Cano-Paez B, Montesinos-Lopez A, Crossa J (2022) A comparison between three tuning strategies for Gaussian kernels in the context of univariate genomic prediction. Genes 13(12) doi:10.3390/genes13122282
Lopez S, Wiersma A, Strauss N, Watkins T, Baik B-K, Zhang G, Sehgal S, Kolb F, Poland J, Mason E, Carter A, Olsen E (2023) Description of U6719-004 wheat germplasm with YrAS2388R stripe rust resistance introgression from Aegilops tauschii. Journal of Plant Registrations 17:26-33 doi:10.1002/plr2.20226
Phipps SN, Burke AB, Balow KA, Murray TD, Carter AH (2022) Identification of snow mold tolerance QTL in a landrace winter wheat using linkage mapping. Crop Science 62:1415-1429 doi:10.1002/csc2.20745
Aoun M, Carter AH, Morris CF (2022) Genetic architecture of end-use quality traits in soft white winter wheat. BMC Genomics 23:440 doi:10.1186/s12864-022-08676-5
Running K, Momotaz A, Kariyawasam G, Zurn J, Pozniak C, Acevedo M, Carter AH, Liu Z, Faris J (2022) Genomic analysis and delineation of the tan spot susceptibility locus Tsc1 in wheat. Frontiers in Plant Science 13:793925 doi:10.3389/fpls.2022.793925
Merrick LF, Herr AW, Sandhu KS, Lozada DN, Carter AH (2022) Optimizing plant breeding programs for genomic selection. Agronomy 12:714 doi:10.3390/agronomy12030714
Merrick LF, Herr AW, Sandhu KS, Lozada DN, Carter AH (2022) Utilizing genomic selection for wheat population development and improvement. Agronomy 12:522 doi:10.3390/agronomy12020522
Garland-Campbell K, Bellinger BS, Carter AH, Chen X, DeMacon P, Engle D, Hagerty CH, Kiszonas A, Klarquist E, Murray TD, Morris C, Neely C, Odubiyi S, Rashad A, See D, Steber CM, Wen N (2022) Registration of ‘Cameo’ soft white winter club wheat. Journal of Plant Registrations 16:585-596 doi:10.1002/plr2.20234
Zemetra RS, Phipps SN, Kohler T, Burke AB, Carter AH (2022) Registration of the Coda/Brundage wheat recombinant inbred line mapping population. Journal of Plant Registrations 16:176-184 doi:10.1002/plr2.20147
He F, Wang W, Rutter WB, Jordan KW, Ren J, Taagen E, DeWitt N, Sehgal D, Sukumaran S, Driesigacker S, Reynolds M, Liu S, Chen J, Fritz A, Cook J, Brown-Guedira G, Pumphrey M, Carter A, Sorrells M, Dubcovsky J, Hayden MJ, Akhunov A, Morrell PL, Szabo L, Rouse M, Akhunov E (2022) The landscape of genetic effects on gene expression levels in allopolyploid wheat reveals the impact of homoeologous gene dysregulation on agronomic traits. Nature Communications 13:826 doi:10.1038/s41467-022-28453-y
Merrick LF, Lozada DN, Chen X, Carter AH (2022) Classification and regression models for genomic selection of skewed phenotypes: a case for disease resistance in winter wheat (Triticum aestivum ). Frontiers in Genetics 13:835781 doi:10.3389/fgene.2022.835781
Merrick LF, Zhang Z, Burke AB, Carter AH (2022) Comparison of Single-Trait and Multi-Trait Genome-Wide Association Models and Inclusion of Correlated Traits in the Dissection of the Genetic Architecture of a Complex Trait in a Breeding Program. Frontiers in Plant Science doi:10.3389/fpls.2021.772907
Sandhu KS, Patil S, Aoun M, Morris C, Carter AH (2022) Multi-trait multi-environment genomic prediction for end-use quality traits in winter wheat. Frontiers in Genetics 13:831020 org/10.3389/fgene.2022.831020
Sandhu KS, Merrick LF, Sankaran S, Zhang Z, Carter AH (2022) Prospectus of genomic selection and high throughput phenotyping in cereal, legume, and oilseed breeding programs: a review. Frontiers in Genetics 12:829131 org/10.3389/fgene.2021.829131
Jordan KW, Bradury PJ, Miller Z, Nyine M, He F, Fraser M, Anderson J, Mason E, Katz A, Pearce S, Carter A, Prather S, Pumphrey M, Chen J, Cook J, Liu S, Rudd J, Wang Z, Chu C, Ibrahim AM, Turkus J, Olson E, Nagarajan R, Yan L, Taagen E, Sorrells M, Ward B, Ren J, Akhunova A, Bowden R, Fiedler J, Faris J, Dubcovsky J, Guttieri M, Brown-Guedira G, Buckler E, Jannink J-L, Akhunov ED (2021) Development of the wheat practical haplotype graph database as a resource for genotyping data storage and genotype imputation. Genes|Genomes|Genetics org/10.1093/g3journal/jkab390
Sandhu KS, Mihalyov PD, Lewien MJ, Pumphrey MO, Carter AH (2021) Grain protein content stability and genomic selection for predicting grain protein content in wheat. Agronomy 11:2528 org/10.3390/agronomy11122528
Merrick LF, Carter AH (2021) Comparison of genomic selection models for exploring predictive ability of complex traits in breeding programs. The Plant Genome 14:3 e20158 org/10.1002/tpg2.20158
Aoun M, Carter AH, Thompson Y, Ward BP, Morris CF (2021) Environment characterization and genomic prediction for end-use quality traits in soft white winter wheat. The Plant Genome 14:3 e20128 org/10.1002/tpg2.20128
Sandhu KS, Patil SS, Pumphrey MO, Carter AH (2021) Multi-trait machine and deep learning models for genomic selection using spectral information in a wheat breeding program. The Plant Genome 14:3 e20119 org/10.1002/tpg2.20119 2023 Outstanding Paper-Original Research
Kumar A, Mir R, Sehgal D, Agarwal P, Carter A (2021) Genetics and genomics to enhance crop production, towards food security. Editorial in Frontiers in Genetics 12:798308 org/10.3389/fgene.2021.798308
Sandhu KS, Aoun M, Morris CF, Carter AH (2021) Genomic selection for end-use quality and processing traits in soft white winter wheat breeding program with machine and deep learning models. Biology 10, 689 doi.org/10.3390/biology10070689
Aoun M, Carter AH, Ward B, Morris CF (2021) Genome-wide association mapping of the ‘super soft’ kernel texture in white winter wheat. Theoretical and Applied Genetics 134:2547-2559 doi:10.1007/s00122-021-03841-y
Merrick LF, Burke AB, Chen X, Carter AH (2021) Breeding with major and minor genes: Genomic selection for quantitative disease resistance. Frontiers in Plant Science doi:10.3389/fpls.2021.713667
Rodriguez J, Hauvermale A, Carter AH, Burke IC (2021) An ALA₁₂₂THR substitution in the AHAS/ALS gene confers imazamox-resistance in jointed goatgrass (Aegilops cylindrica ). Pest Management Science 77:4583-4592
Sangjan W, Carter AH, Pumphrey PO, Jitkov V, Sankaran S (2021) Development of sensor system for the Internet of Things (IoT)-based automated in-field monitoring to support crop breeding programs. Inventions 6:42 doi.org/10.3390/inventions6020042
Thompson YA, Carter AH, Ward BP, Kiszonas AM, Morris CF (2021) Association mapping of sponge cake volume in U.S. Pacific Northwest elite soft white wheat (Triticum aestivum). Journal of Cereal Science 100:103250 doi.org/10.1016/j.jcs.2021.103250
Lozada DN, Carter AH, Mason RE (2021) Unlocking yield potential of wheat: influence of major growth habit and adaptation genes. Crop Breeding, Genetics and Genomics 3:e210004.
Horgan A, Garland-Campbell KA, Carter AH, Steber CM (2021) Seedling elongation responses to gibberellin seed treatments in wheat. Agrosystems, Geosciences, and Environment 4:1-13 doi:10.1002/agg2.20144
Garland-Campbell K, Allan RE, Carter AH, DeMacon P, Klarquist E, Wen N, Chen X, Steber CM, Morris C, See D, Esser A, Engle D, Higginbotham R, Mundt C, Murray TD (2021) Registration of ‘Castella’ soft white winter club wheat. Journal of Plant Registrations 15:504-514 doi:10.1002/plr2.20132
Strauss NM, Wiersma A, DeMacon P, Klarquist E, Carter AH, Garland-Campbell KA, Olson E (2021) Registration of the Wheat D-Genome Nested Association Mapping Population. Journal of Plant Registrations 15:215-222 doi:10.1002/plr2.20078
Gill KS, Kumar N, Randhawa HS, Murphy K, Carter AH, Morris CF, Higginbotham RW, Engle DA, Guy SO, Lyon D, Murray TD, Chen XM, Schillinger WF (2021) Registration of ‘Resilience CL+’ soft white winter wheat. Journal of Plant Registrations 15:196-205 doi:10.1002/plr2.20118
Carter AH, Balow KA, Shelton GB, Burke AB, Hagemeyer KE, Stowe A, Worapong J, Higginbotham RW, Chen XM, Engle DA, Murray TD, Morris CF (2021) Registration of ‘Stingray CL+’ soft white winter wheat. Journal of Plant Registrations 15:161-171 doi:10.1002/plr2.20109
Carter AH, Balow KA, Shelton GB, Burke AB, Hagemeyer KE, Stowe A, Worapong J, Higginbotham RW, Chen XM, Engle DA, Murray TD, Morris CF (2021) Registration of ‘Devote’ soft white winter wheat. Journal of Plant Registrations 15:121-131 doi:10.1002/plr2.20079
Carter AH, Balow KA, Shelton GB, Burke AB, Hagemeyer KE, Stowe A, Worapong J, Higginbotham RW, Chen XM, Engle DA, Murray TD, Morris CF (2021) Registration of ‘Scorpio’ hard red winter wheat. Journal of Plant Registrations 15:113-120 doi:10.1002/plr2.20076
Sandhu KS, Mihalyov PD, Lewien MJ, Pumphrey MO, Carter AH (2021) Combining genomic and phenomic information for predicting grain protein content and grain yield in spring wheat. Frontiers in Plant Science 12:613300 doi:10.3389/fpls.2021.613300
Sjoberg SM, Carter AH, Steber C, Garland-Campbell KA (2021) Application of the factor analytic model to assess wheat falling number performance and stability in multi-environment trials. Crop Science 61:372-382 doi:10.1002/csc2.20293
Sandhu KS, Lozada DN, Zhang Z, Pumphrey MO, Carter AH (2021) Deep learning for predicting complex traits in spring wheat. Frontiers in Plant Science 11:613325 doi:10.3389/fpls.2020.613325

More publications (pdf)

News Articles

Public wheat breeders continue 130-year legacy of excellence

From William Jasper Spillman’s first release in the early 1900s to the newest cultivars reaching farms this year, breeders at Washington State University have kept Washington wheat competitive for well over a century.

Times may change, but the university’s public wheat breeding program remains committed to an independent, far-seeing role that supports the growers of today and tomorrow.

Wheat Breeding in the 21st Century

Virtual seminar for the National Association of Plant Breeders

Nature vs. Nurture (pdf)

For almost all plant breeders, the interaction of the phenotype, genotype, and environment is crucial to developing new varieties. The phenotype is the trait that is being measured and is determined by the genotype (genetics) of the variety, along with the environment it is grown in. For example, if the phenotype we are looking at is plant height, it will be determined in part by the genetics, whether or not the variety contains zero, one, or two dwarfing genes. The final plant height is also determined by the environment it is grown in. If there is one dwarfing gene in the variety it will be of medium height, but if grown under irrigation, it may be 40 inches tall, whereas if it is grown in rain-fed conditions of only 12 inches of rain, the variety may only be 32 inches.

Food for a Changing Climate

Eastern Washington’s wheat fields shimmer in the summer heat⁠—a seemingly homogenous landscape blanketing the region.

But the uniform appearance is an illusion, and no one knows it better than Washington State University’s wheat breeders. For more than a century, successive generations of breeders have labored to create wheat varieties that thrive in Eastern Washington’s microclimates.

Crop Science Society of America Webinar Series, “Use of Unoccupied Aerial Systems in Plant Breeding” October 2023

Predicting Performance

Sometimes, I feel like plant breeding is like the NFL draft. There are thousands of players out there, and, like an NFL scout, I walk around and look at their performance history and associated numbers.

In both scenarios, we find players (or in my case, breeding lines) that have a strong performance over the years. We then take a chance on them. NFL teams draft players hoping their performance in high school and college will translate into superior performance on the NFL team, and maybe even a future MVP. In my case, I hope performance over the multiple years of testing in various small plots trials throughout Washington will result in similar performance under full-scale commercial production.

Sensors, Drones, and the Internet of Things

If you have recently been to a field day or heard me talking on the breeding program, you will have heard me talk about our work on high-throughput phenotyping. This is a term we use to generalize the work done on collecting images and other spectral data to inform us about the breeding lines we are evaluating and their overall plant health status. I like to say the images give us information about the plant that the eye can’t typically see. We can estimate water content, photosynthetic efficiency, transpiration rates, and canopy temperature, all traits which I can’t normally estimate with my eye when looking at a plant, but traits we think are important to developing new cultivars that will maintain high yield in the face of climate variability.

Harvest time at Spillman Farm will be easier with gift of combines

Generations of Coug students have worked under the hot sun harvesting test crops at Washington State University’s Spillman Agronomy Farm.

At first they did the work by hand, cutting and gathering wheat, barley, pea, lentil and chickpea crops from small test plots. Specially-made combines for the research plots were an improvement, but they still were labor-intensive to operate.

Plotting an easier way to gather grain (pdf)

Generations of Coug students have worked under the hot sun harvesting test crops at Washington State University’s (WSU) Spillman Agronomy Farm.
At first, they did the work by hand, cutting and gathering wheat, barley, pea, lentil and chickpea crops from small test plots. Specially made combines for the research plots were an improvement, but they still were labor-intensive to operate.

Giving Rust a Rest

Arron Carter and his breeding program provide the first line of defense in the high-stakes battle against stripe rust—the number one threat to wheat.

The fungal pathogen that causes stripe rust is ubiquitous in wheat-growing regions. Its airborne spores can ride the wind for miles upon miles. When conditions are right, it grows quickly, sucking water and nutrients out of the leaves and crippling a plant’s ability to produce healthy seeds.

Game Changer: Advances in Molecular Technology Open New Doors in Breeding

Molecular technology has been rapidly changing in the past 20 years, making my job as Washington State University’s winter wheat breeder more complicated and more streamlined simultaneously.

There are many different aspects of “molecular technology.” Manipulating genetic material and cellular process is part of it, but so are innovations in computational and manufacturing technology.

CAHNRS Faculty Friday – 2019

Images from Space Could Help Farmers Grow Better Wheat Varieties

Helping feed a growing world more sustainably, a team of researchers at Washington State University is putting satellites and drones to work in the hunt for better wheat varieties.

Funded by a $500,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture, WSU scientists launched a new project this spring, developing techniques that let satellites and flying drones identify and study wheat varieties from overhead.

Their effort could speed up research into better, more productive wheat varieties, and could give growers powerful new tools to improve farming.

Secrets to Success from the Next Generation

Known as the father of the Green Revolution, Norman Borlaug saved millions of lives throughout the world by developing high-yielding wheat varieties during the mid-20th century. He was also known for training large numbers of young people, whom he referred to as “hunger fighters,” to follow in his footsteps.

Nine years after his death, we sat down with a few of these modern hunger-fighters during the recent 2018 National Association of Plant Breeders (NAPB) meeting in Guelph, Ontario. These eight individuals comprise this year’s Borlaug Scholars, young people who represent the next generation of plant breeding leaders.