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New cereal varieties update

As one of the foundations of profitable crop production, new and improved cereal varieties help establish the base for higher productivity. Public and private plant breeders have worked hard to improve continually  the choices available to cereal growers. This year’s offering includes the first wheat midge resistant wheat varieties. Here, the retailers have provided Top Crop Manager with descriptions of the key attributes for the new varieties.

April 30, 2010  By Bruce Barker


As one of the foundations of profitable crop production, new and improved cereal varieties help establish the base for higher productivity. Public and private plant breeders have worked hard to improve continually the choices available to cereal growers. This year’s offering includes the first wheat midge resistant wheat varieties. Here, the retailers have provided Top Crop Manager with descriptions of the key attributes for the new varieties.

wtcm-6-5--fox-secan
 
Dr. Stephen Fox from AAFC Winnipeg is the breeder of AC Unity VB and AC Waskada. (Photo courtesy of SeCan Association)
 
wtcm-6-5--2010-barley-plot
 
Barley breeders continue to push yield and quality parameters.Photo by Bruce Barker)


 

New spring wheat varieties
AC Goodeve VB is a CWRS wheat variety with a yield potential of 113 percent of AC Barrie. AC Goodeve VB is resistant to wheat midge and carries the Sm1 gene, which confers single gene resistance to the variety. It is early maturing, with strong straw. AC Goodeve VB is available exclusively through Alliance Seed Corporation and AC Goodeve VB growers.

Glenn CWRS
wheat has a solid agronomic package and high test weight. It is rated R to stem rust and leaf rust and shows improved resistance to fusarium head blight (FHB) and has reduced DON levels. It is very well suited to areas where and rust and FHB are of concern. Available from Canterra Seeds

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WR 859 CL is a CWRS variety that is rated as having good resistance to FHB and very good resistance to leaf rust. It is very manageable in terms of plant height and lodging resistance and has a three percent yield increase over Superb. WR 859 CL can be sprayed with all registered herbicides for wheat including Altitude FX and is available exclusively at Richardson.

AC Unity VB is an awned CWRS wheat variety and is one of the first midge-tolerant wheat varieties available. AC Unity VB has shown very high grain yield eight to 20 percent higher yield than AC Barrie, improved leaf rust resistance, maturity equal to AC Barrie and good sprouting resistance. Available from SeCan members.

AC Waskada is an awned CWRS variety that provides high grain yield (12 percent higher than AC Barrier) along with a “Good” rating for resistance to fusarium head blight. AC Waskada has shown good sprouting resistance in addition to good resistance to stem rust, loose smut and common bunt. Available from SeCan members.

AC Snowstar is an awnless hard white spring wheat variety with short, strong straw and good leaf and stem rust resistance. It matures one day earlier than AC Barrie, and has yields up to nine percent higher than AC Barrie. Available from SeCan members.

AC Sadash is an awned, semi-dwarf soft white spring wheat variety that provides extremely high grain yields of 20 to 40 percent higher than AC Barrie, along with low protein. It is five days later maturing than AC Barrie. The lower protein of AC Sadash along with its high grain yields should make it very suitable for milling and/or ethanol production. Available from SeCan members.

New winter wheat varieties
Accipiter is an awned CWRW General Purpose wheat with grain yield 12 percent higher than CDC Clair, very good lodging resistance, good winter hardiness and resistance to stem and leaf rust. Available from SeCan members.

Peregrine is an awned CWRW General Purpose wheat with very high grain yield (114 to 121 percent of CDC Clair), good winter hardiness and resistance to stem and leaf rust. Available from SeCan members.

New barley varieties
Stellar-ND six-row malting barley is well suited to the barley growing areas of the central and eastern Prairies. It possesses excellent malting quality and is early maturing. It has experienced growing demand from the brewing industry. Available from Canterra Seeds.

CDC PolarStar two-row malting barley is an IP variety with Prairie Malt. It is agronomically similar to CDC Kendall but possesses a unique trait that prevents cloudiness in beer and extends its shelf life. Available from Canterra Seeds.

CDC Mindon is a two-row, hulled feed barley with strong straw, improved resistance to FHB and reduced DON accumulation. It has maturity similar to AC Metcalfe and yields of 98 to 104 percent of AC Metcalfe. CDC Mindon also has improved resistance to prevalent races of spot blotch and smut. Available from SeCan members.

New oat varieties
SW Triactor white oat is very high yielding at 113 percent of Dancer and Cascade and has very good standability. Available from Canterra Seeds

CDC SO-I oat is from the Crop Development Centre at the University of Saskatchewan, and was specially developed for the ruminant feed market. CDC SO-I has a combination of a more digestible, low acid-detergent lignin hull with higher than normal groat fat content resulting in greater energy density and digestibility for cattle than other available oat varieties. It is shorter and stronger strawed than CDC Dancer, with similar yield potential and maturity. Available from T + L Seeds at North Battleford, Saskatchewan.

New triticale
Fridge is a tall winter triticale, which has had excellent winter survival and is used in the forage market. Fridge relies on rapid early growth and stand height to produce tonnage. It is a tall, early growing variety with strong stems and excellent lodging resistance. It is resistant to leaf and stem rust, and is grown for the silage, greenfeed and grazing markets. Available from Friendly Acres Seed Farm.

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