AAC Bailey | New CWRS variety has higher yield potential than Lillian
Wheat growers who depend on the solid stemmed trait to minimize wheat stem sawfly damage will soon have another promising spring wheat variety at their disposal.Â
AAC Bailey, a recently registered Canada Wheat Red Spring variety developed by Agriculture Canada, has the potential to secure significant acres in Western Canada.
Lillian has been the most popular solid stemmed red spring variety in Western Canada in recent years. It accounted for 32 percent of total CWRS acres in 2010 and 28 percent of red spring acres in 2011.
Data for 2012 is not available.
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AAC Bailey, whose parentage includes Lillian, has higher yield potential and improved stem solidness.
In pre-registration trials, it had reduced sawfly cutting relative to other solid stemmed varieties and an improved fusarium head blight reaction.
Canterra Seeds holds the distribution rights for AAC Bailey.
Certified seed will not be available this year.
Bailey was one of several promising new varieties introduced to growers Jan. 9 during Crop Production Week in Saskatoon.
Others included a solid stemmed durum that is awaiting registration in early 2013. It is the first in Canada.
A more complete list of new cereal varieties registered in 2012 or likely to be supported for registration in 2013 can be viewed on the Western Producer website at www.producer.com. Search for new varieties.
Plant breeders from Agriculture Canada and the University of Saskatchewan’s Crop Development Centre also highlighted promising new cultivars that could one day take root on millions of acres across the West.
Dave Gehl, head of Agriculture Canada’s seed increase unit at Indian Head, Sask., said wheat breeders at Agriculture Canada have a number of new spring wheat lines that could be brought forward for registration support at Prairie Grain Development Committee meetings in Saskatoon next month.
Among those are new midge tolerant durum, DT833, and a new high yielding, midge tolerant Canada Prairie Spring Red line, HY1615, that has improved fusarium head blight reaction.
“I think what’s notable about (this) is that 1615 has consistently the lowest fusarium head blight ratings, not only for the CPSR class but for all of the 27 spring wheat lines (that we grew in 2012) … at Indian Head,” he said.
“This would be a breakthrough in fusarium tolerance for spring wheats, and especially for that class of wheat.”
Pierre Hucl, a spring wheat breeder at the CDC, said promising new wheat offerings from the CDC include:
- CDC Vivid durum, which has yield potential seven percent higher than Strongfield.
- DT570 durum, the CDC’s first solid stemmed durum, which produced higher yields than other solid stemmed durum lines in pre-registration trials.
- BW 942, a two-gene Clearfield CWRS that could give growers expanded weed control options.
- PT584, a midge tolerant CWRS line with improved fusarium reaction and resistance to stripe rust.
“A lot of the midge tolerant varieties that we have right now … do not have very good stripe rust resistance,” said Hucl.
PT584 is highly resistant to stripe rust, he added.
