Meet Mr. Wheat

By: Maggie Base, Geary, Oklahoma

While Oklahoma wheat farmers prepare their yearly crop, one member of the Oklahoma State University Wheat Improvement Team devotes his time in labs, greenhouses and fields to conduct research for potential wheat diseases.

Robert “Bob” Hunger, an OSU professor and extension plant pathologist, said his interest in biology started when his high school biology teacher allowed him to be an assistant in the classroom. This interest led him to Colorado State University, where he obtained a bachelor’s degree in plant pathology in 1976.

“On the day of my undergraduate graduation, I was having breakfast with my parents and Dr. Gary McIntyre, the department head at Colorado State,” Hunger said. “He asked me what I was going to do after graduation. I told him I was unsure, but I could tell he was thinking about something. The next week he called and asked if I wanted to be one of his graduate students.”

Hunger continued his education at CSU and obtained his master’s degree in plant pathology in 1978.

"I grew up a lot in graduate school, and the department head got me focused more on what gradutae degrees were like in regard to the research and science,” Hunger said. “He was a huge influence during that time, and I still talk to him today.”

After earning his master’s, Hunger went back to graduate school to work toward his doctorate.

In 1982, Hunger earned his doctorate at Oregon State University, and shortly after, he accepted a job at Oklahoma State University to teach and conduct research.

“It turned out what they were looking for here at Oklahoma State was a person to not only teach a little bit but also work with the wheat breeding program to develop disease-resistant wheat varieties,” Hunger said.

In the late ’90s, he took the wheat extension pathologist role. Since then he has divided his workload among research, extension and teaching, he said.

“I have enjoyed splitting the workload,” Hunger said. “It has given me more opportunity to interact with producers, growers and county educators.”

Hunger interacts with producers by attending field days featuring wheat variety demonstrations, he said.

Each spring, more than 20 feild days take place across state. Field days give the producers in the area an opportunity to view the different wheat varieties available, Hunger added.

“Bob has always been willing to work with producers in Oklahoma,” said Mike Schulte, Oklahoma Wheat Commission director. “He has an outstanding rapport with the farmers across the state, and you certainly see that when you see him at a field day.”

Hunger said he discusses the diseases occurring during the crop year and how important they are to the producers. He also answers any questions the producers have.

“I definitely enjoy the interaction with the wheat growers,” he said. “That is where you really feel and see the practicality of what you are doing.”

Hunger has a significant impact on the development of the different wheat varieties OSU produces, said Brett Carver, Regents professor and Wheat Genetics Chair in Agriculture Wheat Breeding and Genetics.

Carver said roughly 350,000 data points occur during the development of each wheat variety.

"Of those data points, 40% relate back to diseases, and that is becasue we have so many diseaes," he said. "So in a way, Bob has his hands on 40% of the making of each variety. No other person other than the farmer of the crop is going to have that deep of a connection to the variety.”

Robert “Bob” Hunger develops fact sheets and videos to help educate producers about wheat diseases across the state.

Photo by Maggie Base.

The wheat breeding program looks in-depth at six different diseases, Hunger said. These include viral and fungal diseases, which are tested in the greenhouse and in the field, he said.

One wheat variety, Duster, was created in 2006 by the Oklahoma Agricultural Experiment Station.

“We thought we were ready to release Duster, but then decided it needed to be purified,” Carver said.

This variety took 16 years and three different iterations to produce, Carver said. On average, a wheat variety takes 10 years and only one iteration to produce, he said.

Duster’s production success comes from its ability to adapt to the different strains of leaf rust, he said. Carver described leaf rust like the common cold — always there and always changing.

“I give Bob a lot of credit for Duster’s success in this state,” Carver said. “It has been very important for other wheat varieties developed by breeding programs outside of Oklahoma. Bob was the star of the show when it came to releasing Duster.”

Several wheat varieties, such as Gallagher, Smith’s Gold and Iba, were developed as part of the Duster lineage, Carver said.

“Bob came up with the name Smith’s Gold,” Carver said. “He wanted to continue that heritage and connection to Gallagher, and what better way than using the Smith name after OSU wrestling coach John Smith?”

For Hunger’s years of dedication to the Oklahoma wheat industry, the Oklahoma Wheat Growers’ Association named him Mr. Wheat in 2017.

“Dr. Hunger’s contributions have allowed the OSU public wheat research program to flourish,” Schulte said, “keeping us competitive in the marketplace by offering wheat varieties with exclusive qualities and leading yields.

“His life’s work in wheat research has not only benefited the OSU wheat program today but will for many years to come,” Schulte added.