Brand-new batch of cereal varieties jockies for approval

Crop breeders across the Prairies will present an impressive list of improved varieties for registration next month.

Close to 20 new varieties of cereals will be adjudicated by a committee of experts who will decide if they should be registered for production.

University of Saskatchewan Crop Development Centre breeder Brian Rossnagel and Agriculture Canada breeder Dave Gehl gave a description of the new varieties to Saskatchewan seed growers at their convention Jan. 14.

Rossnagel said milling quality results are not ready for most of the varieties. If registered, most will be commercially available in 1999.

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Brief descriptions of the proposed varieties follow:

Hard red spring wheat

BW220 from Saskatchewan Wheat Pool is awned and has yield and maturity similar to AC Barrie. It has about half a percentage point more protein and good test weight. It is rated as having good rust, bunt and root rot resistance.
BW703 from the Crop Development Centre was the first semi-dwarf HRSW evaluated in Western Canada co-op tests. Its maturity and yield is about the same as Laura but it has shorter and stronger straw.

It is awned and immune to bunt, but is susceptible to loose smut.

PT755 from the University of Alberta is similar to Katepwa but is tolerant to acidic soils.
BW710 from the Agriculture Canada research centre at Swift Current is a semi-dwarf that is sawfly resistant. Its yield is about four percent better than Eatonia and is two days earlier maturing. It has short, strong straw.

Durum

DT671 from Agriculture Canada is shorter than Kyle and a little lower yielding. It has small seed size.
An unnamed variety from Agriculture Canada is a semi-dwarf with yield a little better than Kyle.

CW Extra Strong

GS1 from the University of Manitoba is a Glenlea type wheat with better tan spot resistance.
Agriculture Canada also has two Glenlea-type extra strong varieties. One has better sprouting resistance and the other has better yield.

CW Hard Red Winter

UM6233 is like Kestrel in yield but with better stem and leaf rust resistance. It has better protein and might mature faster than fusarium.
S94-1 and S94-4 are from the Crop Development Centre. They are similar to Clair in yield but have leaf and stem rust resistance similar to hard red spring wheats. They have good protein.

Winter triticale

88DL01076 from the field crop development centre at Lacombe, Alta., is about two-thirds the height of Pica and yield is the same. It matures about three to five days earlier and its hardiness is similar to Norstar in Alberta conditions. It does not have awns and can be used as a grain or forage.

Two-row hulled barley

HB329 from the Crop Development Centre is designed for the eastern Prairies. Its main feature is easy threshing, although Rossnagel is a little concerned that it might shatter. It has strong straw and its yield is like CDC Dawn.
HB 608 from Alberta Agriculture has stronger straw than Dawn but lower yield. It has scald and septoria resistance, but its threshing ease is relatively poor for a two-row.
BT948 from Busch Agriculture Resources and Alberta Pool is similar to that company’s B1602 but has better malting and brewing characteristics.
Agriculture Canada’s Brandon research centre has a high yield variety with maturity about half way between Harrington and Manley, a good agronomic package. Its malt quality is “promising.”

Six-row semi-dwarf

SD511 is a feed barley similar to Kasota with a combination of early maturity and good yield with a little better seed size.
HB105 from Agriculture Canada’s Brandon centre is a malting type of hulless barley that has 13 percent higher yield than Falcon .