New Varieties of Wheat

MORE THAN 50 improved varieties of wheat have been distributed to American farmers in the past decade. They resist rust, smut, other diseases, drought, insects, or winterkilling, major hazards that threaten crops always in one place or another. They increased our total wheat production by more than 800 million bushels in the years 1942 to 1946.

Most of them were developed at State agricultural experiment stations in breeding and testing work in which the Department of Agriculture cooperated and which is closely coordinated in each of the four main wheat-growing regions—hard spring, hard red winter, soft red winter, and western. All varieties developed in these programs are carefully tested to determine where they are adapted for growing and to insure that the grain quality of those released is satisfactory.

Varieties resistant to stem rust, released for growing in the preceding decade, occupied more than 12 million acres of the 15,700,000 acres of hard red spring wheat grown in 1944. This class of wheat predominates in the northern Great Plains and Prairie States, where stem rust formerly caused losses as high as 100 million bushels in some years. Approximately two-thirds the total acreage was sown to varieties resistant to both stem and leaf rust in 1946. Some of them also resist stinking smut and loose smut and one of them withstands the hessian fly.

Thatcher, the first extensively grown hard red spring wheat that is highly resistant to stem rust, was developed in cooperation with the Minnesota Agricultural Experiment Station and released in 1934. Because of its spectacular performance during the stem rust epidemic of 1935, when other varieties were badly damaged, it increased rapidly. By 1939 it was grown on an estimated 14.5 million acres in the United States and Canada. The acreage continued to increase until it was partly replaced by varieties resistant to both stem and leaf rust. In 1944 the acreage of Thatcher in the United States had decreased to 4.5 million but had increased in Canada to nearly 17 million. Before the distribution of Thatcher, stem rust had caused such heavy losses to Marquis and later to Ceres, the susceptible varieties then grown, that the damage from leaf rust was scarcely apparent. But when the stem-rust-resistant but leaf-rust-susceptible Thatcher was grown on large acreages the plants undamaged by stem rust were attacked by leaf rust.

Wheat breeders had foreseen this possibility and had been developing adapted varieties that could also withstand leaf rust. The first of these— Renown, a beardless variety—was developed at Canadian experiment stations and distributed in 1937. Pilot and Rival, two high-yielding bearded varieties, were distributed from the North Dakota Experiment Station in 1939. These are resistant to both stem and leaf rust as well as bunt; Pilot is also resistant to mildew. By 1944 Rival was grown on 4,050,000 acres and Pilot on 1,216,000 acres.

Regent, another beardless variety distributed in Canada in 1939, resists stem rust and bunt, and is fairly resistant to leaf rust. It was grown on about 1,334,000 acres in the United States in 1944.

Four other hard red spring varieties were distributed between 1944 and 1946. All merit special mention. They are Mida, in North Dakota; Newthatch, in Minnesota; Henry, in Wisconsin; and Cadet, in North Dakota. Mida is bearded, medium early, high-yielding, and highly resistant to stem rust, leaf rust, and bunt. It is also somewhat resistant to the hessian fly. It was extensively grown in 1946, but its tendency to shatter, susceptibility to loose smut, and the greater injury suffered by it during the late 1946 spring freeze may retard its increase. Newthatch resembles Thatcher, except that it has more resistance to leaf rust. Henry is resistant to stem rust and is more resistant to leaf rust than other commercial varieties. It is recommended for growing only in Wisconsin, because its milling characteristics differ in some respects from other recently developed, high-quality, hard red spring wheats. Cadet is an excellent beardless type that compares favorably with the other varieties in resistance to both stem and leaf rusts. It performed well in 1946.

Rescue, a still newer variety, was developed by breeders at the Swift Current Station in Saskatchewan to combat losses from the wheat stem sawfly in sections of Canada and Montana. It has shown promise in tests where the sawfly does damage, but it does not resist leaf rust, bunt, or mildew.

The stem rust susceptible Durum varieties, Kubanka and Mindum, are now being replaced by two new varieties, Carleton and Stewart, both highly resistant to stem rust. They have excellent grain quality and were first distributed in North Dakota in 1943.

Hard red winter wheats in 1944 occupied an estimated 30,600,000 acres, about 47 percent of our total wheat acreage. In the central and southern Great Plains, where most of the hard red winter wheats are grown, stem-rust losses have been heavy in some years, and leaf rust, septoria, stinking smut, loose smut, and the hessian fly also have taken a heavy toll. The goal of plant breeders has been to overcome those plagues and to develop sorts that mature early enough to escape drought.

Tenmarq, the first early variety of satisfactory quality, was developed in the coordinated regional program and distributed from the Kansas Agricultural Experiment Station in 1932. In 1944 it was grown more widely in the United States than any other variety of wheat. In then occupied 8,744,000 acres. Tenmarq is 2 or 3 days earlier than Turkey, the variety that had been grown by most farmers in the region for more than half a century. Its weight per bushel is low, but the milling and baking qualities of Tenmarq are excellent.

Cheyenne and Nebred, distributed in Nebraska in 1933 and 1938, have been popular in western Nebraska and the adjacent sections of Kansas and Colorado. Cheyenne is considered a good combine variety because of its stiff straw and erect heads. Nebred is resistant to stinking smut. Both are high-yielding varieties of satisfactory quality, but mature too late to be grown farther south.

Most hard red winter wheat is milled into flour for bread. Bakers want flour having certain characteristics of quality because they must be able to produce a uniform product month after month. Varieties differ markedly in characteristics that determine quality. During the past few years a considerable acreage of varieties that produce inferior flour for bread has been grown in Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas. These varieties, Chiefkan, Red Chief, and Early Blackhull, have some desirable characteristics from the farmer’s standpoint; their test weights are 1 to 2 pounds heavier, and that often means a higher grade on the market. Bakers, however, have difficulty making satisfactory bread from flour that contains a high percentage of those varieties.

Four new varieties of satisfactory grain quality, Pawnee, Comanche, Wichita, and Westar, released to growers in 1943 and 1944, give promise of replacing the varieties of inferior quality. They are earlier and have higher test weights and stiffer straw than the popular Tenmarq, which is a parent of the first three varieties. Pawnee, Comanche, and Westar are about 3 days and Wichita 6 days earlier than Ténmarq. Pawnee is somewhat resistant to leaf and stem rust, loose smut, and hessian fly. Comanche resists stinking smut. Westar withstands leaf rust. Wichita often escapes damage from the rusts as well as drought because of its early maturity. Comanche was selected from an Oro X Tenmarq cross, Pawnee from a Kawvale X Tenmarq cross, and Wichita from an Early Blackhull X Tenmarq cross. While none of these varieties was grown on more than a few acres in 1943, it is estimated that Pawnee was grown on 1,500,000 acres, Comanche on 1,000,000 acres, Wichita on 200,000 acres, and Westar on 3,000 acres for the 1946 crop.

Wheat is not a major crop in the East, although soft red winter varieties are grown there on some 12 million acres and soft white varieties on a million acres annually. Wheat is needed in the rotation and it serves as a cash crop. Wheat of these classes is used for making cake, pastry, cracker, biscuit, and similar flours, and prepared breakfast cereals, and the desired quality characteristics are entirely different from those for the hard wheats. The major production hazards have been the leaf rust, loose smut, septoria, scab diseases, the hessian fly, and winterkilling.  Resistance to lodging and short straw are important because much of the wheat is sown as a companion crop with seedings of legumes and grasses.

Thorne, the leading soft red winter variety, was grown on more than a million and a half acres in 1944, about three-fourths of it in Ohio.  Thorne was developed by the Ohio Agricultural Experiment Station and was distributed in 1937. Its high yields, short, stiff straw, and resistance to loose smut make it popular with farmers, even though its weight per bushel is low.

Fairfield, distributed in Indiana in 1942, is winter hardy, resistant to loose smut and lodging, and is moderately resistant to leaf rust. It has soft grain of good quality. Prairie, distributed in Illinois in 1943, is a bearded winter-hardy variety with moderate resistance to leaf rust. It promises to become an important variety in central Illinois, where soft wheat varieties previously available have been subject to winterkilling.  Blackhawk, distributed in Wisconsin in 1944, is one of the most winter-hardy soft wheat varieties adapted for commercial growing. It is resistant to stem rust, leaf rust, and stinking smut, but is probably too late in maturity for growing except in Wisconsin and northern Illinois.

Hardired and Sanford, distributed in South Carolina and Georgia, respectively, in 1940, are moderately resistant to leaf rust. Both are becoming popular varieties in the South, where they are replacing Purplestraw, a leading variety for more than a century. The development of leaf-rust-resistant varieties adapted to the Southeast should aid in the shift from soil-depleting row crops, such as cotton and corn, to the soil-protecting legumes, grasses, and small grains.

Austin, which resists stem and leaf rust and loose smut, was released in Texas in 1943 and was grown on an estimated million acres for the 1946 crop. Plant breeders are watching with interest to see whether growing this variety in central and south Texas will have an effect on the development of rust epidemics in wheat-growing areas to the north. We expect that the use of resistant varieties in Texas will eliminate a source of overwintering rust spores that start the northward movement of rust in the spring and, if weather conditions are right, build up into the major epidemics farther north.

Yorkwin, a variety of white winter wheat distributed in New York in 1936, is now the leader in its class in New York and Michigan. The acreage of Cornell 595, a still newer variety of this class, is increasing rapidly.  Both varieties are high yielding with stiff straw and resistance to loose smut.

   The extremely diverse climatic conditions in the Pacific Northwest permit all classes of wheat except durum to be grown there successfully.  The principal varieties are white, and of both winter and spring habit. A considerable acreage of hard red winter varieties is. also grown.  Stinking smut, or bunt, was one of the most serious hazards to wheat production in the region as recently as the early 1930’s. The development and distribution of resistant varieties reduced the percentage of cars grading smutty at the Pacific Northwest markets from 36.7 percent in 1931 down to 2.8 percent in 1942. A more virulent type of stinking smut, referred to as “dwarf bunt”, formerly caused extremely heavy losses in the valleys of Utah, Idaho, and western Montana. In 1935, 39.8 percent of the cars received at the Utah markets graded smutty.  However, the introduction of adapted varieties resistant to that type of smut caused the percentage of cars grading smutty to drop to 9 percent in 1943. The figures are on market grade and do not reflect the losses in yield on the farm from smut.

The hard red winter varieties Ridit, Oro, and Rio, and the white club variety Albit, were among the first smut-resistant varieties distributed to growers in the Columbia Basin. They have been largely replaced by even better strains. Rex, a bunt-resistant, high-yielding white winter wheat with medium short stiff straw, was distributed in Oregon in 1933.  Its milling qualities are not considered equal to those of the better varieties by the trade. Reduced losses in recent years have made growers indifferent to the smut problems. This fact, together with the poor quality of Rex, has caused the acreage of resistant varieties to decrease in the Columbia Basin during the past few years. This has increased the percentage of cars grading smutty to 8.3 percent in 1945. Hymar, a smut-resistant white club wheat distributed from the Washington station in 1935, has yielded well in the sections of higher rainfall.

Orfed, the newest bunt-resistant variety for the Columbia Basin, was distributed from the Washington station in 1944. This high-yielding, smut-resistant variety has soft white grain of good quality and has stiff straw that will stand for combining. It can be grown from either fall or spring seeding, although it is not so winter-hardy as are some of the strictly winter varieties. It should not be seeded early in the fall.

Alicel and Elgin, two productive club wheats with soft white grain and very short stiff straw, are grown to some extent in Oregon, Washington, and Idaho. They are susceptible to most races of bunt and should always be treated before seeding.

Relief was the first resistant wheat released in the area where the dwarf bunt was causing almost complete losses in some fields. It is a hard red winter variety distributed in Utah in 1934. It is being replaced with Wasatch, a bearded variety, and Cache, a beardless variety in Utah and southern Idaho. These two hard red winter wheats also are replacing the other hard red winter varieties in the Gallatin and Kalispell Valleys of Montana, where dwarf bunt has caused heavy losses. These three varieties, all developed in Utah, are susceptible to some races of tall or ordinary bunt, but they have enabled farmers in areas infested with dwarf bunt to continue wheat production. Dwarf smut cannot be controlled by seed treatment or cultural practices, while ordinary bunt can be largely controlled by these measures. Relaxation in seed treatment programs, increase in races of smut that attack varieties resistant to races formerly present, and the continued growing of completely susceptible varieties are resulting in an increase in the percentage of wheat grading smutty at Utah markets.

Growers on irrigated lands needed a spring variety with short stiff straw for use with new clover seedings. Lembhi, which has soft white grain of excellent pastry quality, was developed for them.

Losses caused by stem rust have been practically eliminated from the wheat fields of California through the distribution of Baart 38 and White Federation 38, which are resistant to stem rust and to bunt. Released by the California Agricultural Experiment Station in 1939, they are grown on more than two-thirds of the acreage in that State. Big Club 43, which resists the hessian fly, a cause of heavy losses in some sections of California, was distributed in 1944. Bunt and stem rust do it little harm.