Soft white spring wheats
Hard white spring wheats
Bannock
A white-chaffed, awned, early-maturing variety released by Idaho AES, USDA-ARS in 1972. It
is a moderately stiff-strawed, medium-height variety with good resistance to lodging and
shattering. Moderately susceptible to stripe and leaf rust when grown under irrigation.
Bannock has yielded well in the dryland areas of southern Idaho but is not recommended for
production under irrigated conditions.
Borah
A white-chaffed, awned, sedmidwarf variety released by Idaho and Oregon AES, USDA-ARS in
1974. Averages 31 inches in height with moderate straw strength. Slightly more susceptible
to lodging than other varieties. Intermediate to early in maturity. Resistant to stripe
rust, moderately resistant to leaf rust, very susceptible to black chaff, and moderately
resistant to black point. Plant seed free of black chaff bacteria. Has performed better on
dryland than under irrigated conditions compared to other varieties. Borah has
satisfactory milling/baking qualities.
Butte
Released by North Dakota AES, USDA-ARS in 1979. Plant heights have varied from 34 to 41
inches under irrigated conditions with very weak straw. Has yielded less than Pondera
under irrigation. Butte is among the top varieties for grain protein content, but the
baking qualities of Butte are not comparable to Pondera. Butte has some tolerance to Wheat
Streak Mosaic.
Hank
Released by Western Plant Breeders in 1999. Hank has yielded well
under irrigation in western Idaho, comparable to Jefferson and better than WB 936. It is taller than WB
936 but shorter than Jefferson. Is is similar to WB 936 in test weight and lodging
resistance.
Hi-Line
A white-chaffed, awned, semidwarf variety released by Montana AES, USDA-ARs in 1991.
Hi-Line yields slightly less than WB 936 and Jefferson in western Idaho but tends to
have better protein. Hi-Line is shorter than Jefferson and comparable to WB Hank.
It has good straw strength. Grain and flour protein are less than Pondera and
flour yield tends to be less than average. Resistant to lodging and stem rust. Susceptible
to leaf and stripe rust. Hi-Line has very acceptable milling/baking qualities. Mixing time
is about average and loaf volume is among the best of the hard red spring varieties.
Iona
Released
by Idaho AES, USDA-ARS in 1999.
Iona has yielded better under irrigation than under dryland.
It has high test weight and is quite high in protein.
Iona is relatively tall, taller than Rick, and has average straw strength.
It is similar in heading date to Probrand 751 and Westbred 936.
Milling and baking characteristics of Iona are good.
Jake
Origin of Jake is not known but Steiner Elevator in Rexburg, ID is distributing it.
Yields of Jake have been comparable to Probrand 751 in most environments. Test weight is
higher than Probrand 751 and comparable to Westbred 326. Height is short and straw
strength is good. Date head is similar to Sunstar II and Idaho 377s.
Jefferson
Released by Idaho AES, USDA-ARS in 1998. Jefferson was primarily intended as
a dryland variety due to it being taller than Probrand 751 and Westbred 936 and similar to
Idaho 377s. But irrigated yields in western Idaho have been excellent, comparable to WB
Hank or WB 936. Test weight is slightly better than WB 936. Yields have
been similar to Probrand 751 with slightly higher test weight. Protein content is similar
to Westbred 936, milling yield is good and loaf volume is similar to Probrand 751 and
Westbred 936.
Jerome (IDO566)
A 2003 UI release from Aberdeen. It has excellent yield potential in western
Idaho. Jerome yielded higher than Hollis, Jefferson, Scarlet, and WPB936 over the
2002 and 2003 seasons in western Idaho. Jerome is 1-3 inches taller than WPB 936 but
did not differ in lodging. Jerome, with higher yield potential, will have lower
protein than WPB 936 and thus will require additional available N. Superior Hessian
Fly resistance.
Kelse
A WSU 2008 Kim Kidwell release. It is a high protein
wheat intended for the intermediate to high rainfall zones. Kelse,
has excellent race specific all growth stage resistance to stripe rust.
McNeal
An awned, brown-chaffed variety released by Montana AES, USDA-ARS in 1995. McNeal was
tested for the first time in the 1996 trials. Yield and other agronomic traits were
similar to Pondera except that McNeal has much better straw strength. McNeal is
susceptible to Russian wheat aphid, stem sawfly and moderately susceptible to leaf and
stripe rust. McNeal has good baking quality.
Pondera
A white-chaffed, awned, semidwarf variety released by Montana AES, USDA-ARs in 1980.
Averages 34 inches in height with moderately stiff straw. Better resistance to lodging
than Borah and has a good reputation for not lodging under commercial conditions.
Resistant to existing races of stripe rust and moderately resistant to existing races of
leaf rust. Excellent milling and baking qualities, and excellent grain test weight among
varieties evaluated.
Rick
Released by Utah AES, USDA-ARS in 1980 for both irrigated and dryland conditions. Yields
have been excellent with both irrigated and dryland management. Protein contents for Rick
tend to be low in irrigated production. In Idaho production, Rick may be best adapted to
dryland spring wheat production where yields of 20 to 30 bu/ac are normal.
Scarlet
WSU release from Kim Kidwell's WSU program. Primarily a dryland release,
Scarlet does not yield as well as Jefferson, WB 936 or WB Hank under irrigation and is
considerably taller and more susceptible to lodging. Excellent baking quality.
Sunstar King
Sunderman Breeding released Sunstar King. This variety is resistant to prevalent
races of stripe rust and leaf rust. Sunstar King has similar date head to Westbred 936, is
slightly taller, and has strong straw strength. Test weight has been better than Westbred
936 and Pinnacle. Yields in southern Idaho have been better than Sunstar II and similar or
slightly better than Westbred 936.
Sylvan
Released by Utah AES, USDA-ARS in 1996. Sylvan yields less than Rick but is similar to
Westbred 936. Protein content is less than Westbred 936 and more than Rick. Test weight
tends to be slightly less than most comparable spring wheat varieties. Height is similar
to Rick and heading date is about 1 day later. Milling and baking characteristics are
better than Rick but not as good as Westbred 936.
Tara
WSU release from Kim Kidwell . Primarily a dryland variety, it yields less than
Jefferson, WB 936, or WB Hank under irrigation in western Idaho. It is shorter than
Scarlet but taller than Jefferson, WB 936 or WB Hank. Excellent baking quality.
Vandal
A semidwarf variety developed for high yield environments in the Pacific Northwest. Vandal
is a full season hard red spring wheat with grain yield and grain protein superior to
Westbred 906R and WB936. It has very good straw strength with excellent shattering
resistance. Excellent resistance to stripe rust and black chaff. Susceptible to
Russian wheat aphids. Vandal's best performance is when late fall planted (or
dormant seeded) in western Idaho. It is less well adapted in western Idaho
when spring planted. Vandal is not recommended for dryland growing conditions.
Baking quality is excellent for an Idaho hard red spring wheat.
Westbred 906R
A proprietary white-chaffed, awned, semidwarf variety released by Western Plant Breeders
in 1981. Averages 35 inches in height under irrigation with good straw strength. Heading
dates are 3 to 4 days earlier than Pondera. Irrigated yields are comparable to Pondera,
with slightly lighter test weight and slightly better grain protein levels. Resistant to
stripe rust. Reactions to black chaff and black point are not known. Very susceptible to
shattering if allowed to overmature. Harvesting at first maturity reduces shatter losses.
Westbred 936
A replacement for Westbred 906R/Westbred 926 in irrigated/high rainfall areas. A
white-chaffed, awned, early season, semidwarf variety released by Western Plant Breeders
in 1993. Westbred 936 has stiff straw with a high test weight/yield potential. It is
tolerant to stripe rust and moderately tolerant to stem/leaf rust. Susceptible to powdery
mildew. Westbred is the most commonly grown hard red spring variety in Idaho.
Winchester
Zeke
Released by Western Plant Breeders in 1999. Zeke has yielded well
under both irrigated and dryland conditions. Test weight has been
about 1 pound lower than Westbred 936 but it is slightly shorter and earlier and has very
good straw strength. Protein
content is less than Westbred 936 but better than Rick and Probrand 751. Milling and baking
characteristics have been good.