This is the first installment in a series looking at promising new crop lines. In upcoming issues we will feature the best barley, oats and lentil candidates.
Prairie grain growers at Crop Production Week in Saskatoon earlier this month got a sneak preview at some of the most promising new wheat lines that could take root across the Prairies in a few years.
Many of the new lines have yet to be registered for commercial production, but they represent the most promising new cultivars that could one day be available.
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Notable among the new lines is a solid-stemmed Canadian Western red spring line that has the potential to replace Lillian as the top CWRS wheat variety grown on the Prairies.
The solid-stemmed trait protects producers against damage caused by the wheat stem sawfly.
Other highlighted lines included a winter wheat line from Agriculture Canada that was rated R for fusarium resistance for three consecutive years of co-op testing and a midge tolerant Canada prairie spring red (CPSR) line with possible resistance to UG-99, a new strain of stem rust that is considered a major threat to global wheat production.
Many new lines highlighted in Saskatoon are expected to be put forward for registration when the Prairie Grain Development Committee holds its annual meetings Feb. 22 to 24 in Winnipeg.
Lines that are supported at those meetings are normally registered within a year and commercial seed is usually available to producers in three or four years.
David Gehl from Agriculture Canada’s Indian Head, Sask., research farm highlighted new wheat lines to farmers and seed growers during the Saskatchewan Seed Growers Association meeting Jan. 12.
One of the most promising Agriculture Canada lines isW454,a Canada Western red winter (CWRW) line developed by Rob Graf in Lethbridge.
Graf told winter wheat growers he was still deciding if he would seek support for the line next month in Winnipeg.
If it is registered,W454has potential to make a significant impact on the winter wheat industry, he said.
The line has winter hardiness similar to check varieties, very good straw strength, maturity similar to Buteo and straw height between Falcon and Buteo.
In general, yield potential is about five percent below check varieties but the yield penalty is less
pronounced in rust areas of eastern Saskatchewan and Manitoba.
“As with a lot of things in life, there are pluses and minuses and unfortunately, this one does have a little bit of a yield penalty,” Graf said.
“But I think producers will see an advantage with it. It’s got a very good stem, leaf and stripe resistance package … (and) it’s also been rated for three years as resistant to fusarium.
“In two of those years, it was better than the most tolerant check variety so this is something that could be a real plus for growers if we can get it through the system.”
Fusarium resistance is a critical issue for cereal producers, especially in Manitoba and eastern Saskatchewan.
The disease has been expanding west across Saskatchewan and fusarium graminearum, the most damaging chemotype, was evident in grain samples from all Saskatchewan crop districts in 2010.
Another promising new wheat line isBW901,a solid-stemmed, hard red spring wheat developed by Ron DePauw at Swift Current, Sask.
Its parentage includes BW807, Journey and Lillian.
BW901has slightly earlier maturity than Lillian, similar straw height and improved straw strength.
Gehl said it has a good disease package with resistance to leaf and stem rust, moderate resistance to common bunt and variable reaction to smut.
In pre-registration tests, it had a two percent yield advantage over Lillian and better reaction to fusarium head blight.
“This is … a potential replacement for Lillian,” Gehl said.
“It’s a solid stemmed variety, marginally higher yielding than Lillian and (it) has a better disease resistance package than Lillian.”
HY693andHY694are Canada Prairie spring red (CPSR) lines developed by wheat breeder Doug Brown in Winnipeg.
The lines are notable because they offer wheat midge resistance and possible resistance to UG-99, a new race of stem rust that could soon make its debut in Canadian wheat fields.
In pre-registration tests, both lines yielded higher than CPSR checks in the black soil zone and are well adapted to that area.
“We’re looking down the road at the (new) race of stem rust … UG-99 and these (lines) are potentially resistant to that race,” Gehl said.
“It’s taken a great deal of effort … to put this into a midge tolerant CPS line.”
Other highlighted wheat lines from Agriculture Canada included:
• BW429,a hybrid spring wheat variety developed by wheat breeder Stephen Fox at the Winnipeg
cereal development centre. The line is a cross between McKenzie and Alsen, an American variety known for its fusarium head blight tolerance.
• BW429is a strong-strawed, semi-dwarf line that has a resistant (R) to moderately resistant (MR) rating for fusarium head blight. Yield potential is similar to McKenzie but lower than Unity VB.
• GP047andGP069are two general purpose wheat lines developed for potential use in ethanol production. The first line, developed in Lethbridge, has higher yield potential than AC Andrew and improved resistance to leaf and stem rust. The second, developed in Swift Current, has higher yield potential than Andrew and better resistance to leaf rust, stem rust and common bunt. It matures a day or two later than Andrew.
• SWS410is a soft white spring variety adapted to irrigated areas of southern Alberta and southwestern
Saskatchewan. The line was developed in Lethbridge and is higher yielding than AC Andrew with a similar disease resistance package.
• HW021is a hard white spring variety developed by Gavin Humphreys in Winnipeg. It has yield potential similar to Infinity, short, strong straw and improved seed quality compared to Snowstar. Its disease package is better than Snowbird and maturity is a day later than Infinity.
Changing markets
Gehl said the market for hard white wheat is shifting to varieties that offer higher flour extraction rates without affecting flour colour.
Those traits allow bread makers to increase the fibre content in bread while maintaining the preferred loaf colour.
Brian Rossnagel, a plant breeder from the University of Saskatchewan’s Crop Development Centre, said six new varieties of wheat developed at the CDC have recently been registered.
• CDC NRG00,formerly known as GP003, is a high yielding, white-seeded general purpose wheat developed by Curtis Pozniak. It has yield potential 25 percent higher than Superb with similar days to maturity. Yield is about four percent below AC Andrew but it matures five days earlier. Protein is about 0.5 percent lower than AC Vista.
• CDC Utmost,formerly BW883, is a midge-resistant red spring variety developed by CDC wheat breeder Pierre Hucl. Yield is about 10 percent higher than Goodeve with similar maturity. Utmost is being handled by FP Genetics.
• CDC Stanley,formerly BW880, is another red spring variety developed by Hucl. It is a high yielding variety with very good grain quality and very good leaf disease resistance. It will be handled by Viterra.
• CDC Kernen,formerly BW881, is a red spring wheat that is well-suited to organic production. The variety is a bit taller than most of the newer red spring varieties but it is also more competitive with weeds. “Pierre has been running a program for quite some time and has been collaborating, particularly with the program up at the University of Alberta, and is trying to develop some lines of wheat that are more competitive,” Rossnagel said. “This is one of the results from that program.”
CDC Kernen produces relatively high-yields in organic production and performs best in the dark brown soil zone.
It is rated fair for fusarium head blight and will be handled by Canterra.
• CDC Thrive,formerly PT575, is a Clearfield-type red spring wheat with good yield potential and earlier maturity than CDC Imagine.
• Protein levels are slightly higher than Imagine.
• Thrive will be handled by Cargill.
• Certified seed from wheat varieties registered last year is normally not available for three or four years.
