Spring Grain Varieties for 1998      

Background info and credits

Factors to consider when selecting varieties

Factors to Consider when Selecting Varieties

While yield often is the key factor in variety selection, other characteristics also can be of importance. As you look through the data tables in this publication, you will discover that yield performance of recently released varieties is quite often similar. Rarely do we find one variety that consistently outyields all others. This is not surprising, since intensive breeding efforts have improved the yield potential and stability of grains in general. What this means to you is that factors other than yield can receive greater attention as you select varieties to grow on your farm. The following criteria should be considered as you think about variety selection.

Height and Lodging. Varieties differ in height and lodging resistance. Though generally correlated, taller varieties do not necessarily have poorer lodging resistance. Lodging reduces grain yield and quality and can significantly increase harvest costs. As soil fertility levels increase, stiffer-strawed varieties should be used. You also should pay careful attention to both timing and rate of fertilizer applications and irrigation, when used.

Disease/Stress Resistance. Diseases can be a major production problem; however, type of disease and disease pressure varies from location to location and from year to year. Select cultivars with resistance or tolerance to the diseases and stresses commonly found in your area. Barley yellow dwarf virus and leaf rust are the most common diseases of spring grains. Russian wheat aphid has devastated spring grain crops, especially late planted crops, in production areas east of the Cascade Mountains. None of the currently available spring wheats, barleys, or triticales has resistance to Russian wheat aphid, but oats are immune. Gaucho seed treatment insecticide shows promise for aphid suppression. Barley stripe rust is a newer disease of barley and can dramatically reduce yield if infestations occur early in the growing season. To date, this disease has only been of economic significance in the Klamath Basin and western Oregon. Resistant varieties are being bred. Orca and Chinook are the first of many resistant varieties soon to be available. Seed is being increased and will not be commercially available in 1998. If you are growing a susceptible variety, Baytan seed treatment and foliar fungicides may be necessary in areas where the disease is prevalent. Consult your local agricultural extension agent.

Maturity. As a group, barleys mature earlier than other grains; oats later. However, varieties differing in rate of maturity exist within each grain type. Early maturing varieties may avoid yield and quality reductions caused by heat or drought in late summer. Later maturing varieties may yield more when moderate temperatures and favorable moisture conditions persist into late summer; however, stem rust and other diseases favored by warm weather may become a problem. Choose varieties with a maturity that matches your environment and cropping needs.

Intended Use. Barley varieties are classified either as feed or malting types. Feed types generally have a higher protein content than malting types. Those listed as malt types have been approved by the American Malting Barley Association (AMBA). Oats are used as animal feed, for cover crop, and as human food. Some varieties are better suited for specific end uses than others. Otana, Monida and Border are preferred food-type oats. Most oat varieties can be used for forage. Soft white wheats, both common and club, have occupied more than 95 percent of Oregon's wheat acreage in recent years. Hard red wheats most often are grown in irrigated areas, but spring dryland production is increasing. Triticales are grown for forage and feed grain use.

Grain Quality. Test weight (bushel weight) is a price-determining factor in the marketplace. Choose varieties with good test weight records. All PNW released varieties meet minimum quality standards established by PNW breeders, but suitability for different end use applications can vary. Premiums for low protein soft white wheat have been paid in recent years. Varieties differ in genetic protein percent potential. Spring grains, as a rule, have higher protein levels than winter grains. This is likely due to environmental rather than genetic causes.

Yield Potential. Yield potential varies from variety to variety and, for a variety, from one area and from one year to another. Yield potential is a genetic trait but is moderated by other factors such as disease and stress tolerance. To evaluate the yield potential of a variety, review data from test sites with an environment similar to that in your area. Where possible, compare performance over several years, as a single year's data can be misleading.

VARIETY DESCRIPTIONS

The following descriptions are designed to provide key information about commonly grown varieties. Material for these descriptions was drawn from the tables in this publication, Idaho Bulletin 697 Irrigated Spring Wheat Production Guide for Southern Idaho and the 1997 Certified Seed Buyers Guide distributed by Washington State Crop Improvement Association.

WHEATS - VARIETY DESCRIPTIONS          back to index

Club Wheats

CALORWA is a spring club wheat. It was released by California, Oregon, and Washington in 1994. Yields, quality, and seed characteristics are marginal. Calorwa was released simply to give club growers a variety to use in overseeding damaged winter club wheat fields. Seed supplies are extremely limited.

Common Soft Whites

ALPOWA is a white-chaffed, awned, soft white released by Washington State University (WSU) in 1993. It is intended as a replacement for Penawawa. Alpowa has slightly higher yield and test weight than Penawawa and better stripe rust resistance.

CENTENNIAL was released in 1990 by the University of Idaho. It is earlier than Penawawa or Alpowa and slightly taller. Centennial has excellent yield potential across environments but is known to thresh hard. This can be a problem given current dockage discounts.

DIRKWIN is a white-chaffed, awnless, semi-dwarf released by the University of Idaho in 1978. It commonly is used as a forage wheat. Dirkwin is resistant to prevalent races of stripe rust but is susceptible to a common race of leaf rust. Test weight is lower than that of other soft white spring varieties.

PENAWAWA is a white-chaffed, awned, semi-dwarf released by WSU in 1985. Penawawa has been the dominant spring wheat variety in Oregon and is still competitive with newer varieties. Alpowa was released as a replacement for Penawawa.

POMERELLE is a white-chaffed, awnless, semi-dwarf released by the University of Idaho in 1996. It is intended as a replacement for Treasure. It has better test weight and lodging resistance than Treasure.

WAKANZ is a white-chaffed, awned, semi-dwarf released by WSU in 1987. Wakanz was released because it is resistant to Hessian fly. Yield potential is excellent but erratic under Oregon conditions. Test weights tend to be low. Wawawai has been released as a replacement for Wakanz.

WAWAWAI was released by WSU in 1994 as a replacement for Wakanz. Both varieties have good Hessian fly resistance. In Oregon testing, Wawawai has had slightly lower yield but significantly better test weights than Wakanz.

WHITEBIRD is a white-chaffed, awnless, semi-dwarf released by the University of Idaho in 1996. It is intended as a Penawawa replacement but Oreon data suggest similar performance at best.

Hard Whites

ID0377S is a hard white released under an exclusive license to Pro-Mar, a growers cooperative, in 1996. The coop controls seed stock, planted acreage and harvested grain. Identity of individual grain lots is preserved and international and domestic niche marketing is being done. For more information about the Pro-Mar Cooperative call 1-888-840-3777.

KLASIC is a white-chaffed, awned, short-statured, hard white spring wheat released by Northrup King in 1982. Production is centered in California. Test weights have been excellent. Yield potential is excellent but performance has been erratic.

WORLD SEEDS 1 is a white-chaffed, awned, tall, hard white spring wheat released by the private company World Seeds in 1972. An attempt is being made to regenerate stock seed.

Hard Reds

WESTBRED 936 was released by Western Plant Breeders in 1992. It is the dominant hard red spring variety in Oregon. Yield potential and shatter resistance are superior to those of earlier WPB varieties. WPB936 is susceptible to leaf rust and Hessian fly.

YECORA ROJO is a white-chaffed, awned, semi-dwarf released by California in 1975. It is short and matures early. Yield potential is less than that of the Westbred materials, but performance has been good across environments. It is resistant to Hessian fly. It is the highest acreage hard red spring in Oregon with most planted acreage in the Klamath Basin.

Durums

WESTBRED 881 is a spring durum released by WesternPlant Breeders in 1984. Yields are typically less than other spring wheats. Some acreage has been grown under contract in the Pendleton area.

Triticales - see wheat tables

TRICAL 2700 was released by Resource Seeds in 1993. It is a facultative variety that usually is spring planted. It is a tall, awned variety intended for use as both grain and forage. Lodging resistance is excellent. Yields have been good across environments.

BARLEYS - VARIETY DESCRIPTIONS         back to index

Malt Types

CHINOOK is a 2-row malt barley released by Montana State University in 1995. It has a moderate level of barley stripe rust resistance. It is later maturing, as are many of the two row malt, and slightly taller than commonly grown feed barleys.

CREST is a moderately stiff-strawed, 2-row malt barley released by the Washington State University 1992. It is a mid-to-late maturing, medium height, variety. It appears to have some tolerance of barley stripe rust.

GALENA is a 2-row malt released by Coors Malting in 1993. It is one of Coors' principal malt varieties at this time and is grown under contract in Idaho and other western states. It has excellent test weights and lodging resistance but is late maturing.

HARRINGTON is a 2-row malt released by the University of Saskatchewan in 1986. It appears to be the best dryland malt variety available at this time. Great Western Malting has purchased some Harrington off of the open market.

Feed Types

BARONESSE is a 2-row feed barley released by Western Plant Breeders in 1992. It has exhibited excellent yield potential and above average test weights across locations. It is later maturing than Steptoe.

GUS is a 6-row feed barley released in 1986. It is marketed by Western Plant Breeders. It is a short-statured variety used under wheel-lines and in other irrigated production. Lodging resistance is excellent.

IDAGOLD is a 2-row feed barley released by Coors Malting in 1996. It is short, stiff strawed and has good test weight. It is very late in maturity.

ORCA is a 2-row, barley stripe rust resistance feed barley released by Oregon State University in 1998. It has exhibited average yield potential and above average test weight across environments. It appears to be best suited to higher elevation, cooler seasoned or irrigated environments.

STEPTOE is a 6-row feed barley released by WSU in 1973. It has been the dominant spring barley in Oregon for nearly 2 decades. It is extremely resilient and adapted to all production environments. It is susceptible to lodging in high production environments and generally has lower test weights and protein levels. It appears to have some tolerance to barley stripe rust.

OATS - VARIETY DESCRIPTIONS         back to index

AJAY (82AB1142) is a new release from the University of Idaho/USDA-ARS. It is a short-statured, lodging-resistant line with excellent yield potential under irrigated conditions. It has light yellow seed and good test weight.

CAYUSE is a yellow-hulled oat released by WSU in 1966. It is the most popular cultivar in the PNW at this time. It is early-maturing, is short in stature and has good lodging resistance. It has fair tolerance to BYDV.

KANOTA is a red oat (Avena byzantina) released in Kansas during the 1920s. It is grown for hay. It is similar in maturity to Cayuse. Kanota is taller than most grain cultivars and has finer stems. Grain yields generally are low.

MONIDA is a white-hulled oat released by the University of Idaho/ARS in 1985. It is the progeny of an 'Otana'/'Cayuse' cross. It is mid-to-late season, similar in height to Otana, and has a test weight intermediate to those of Otana and Cayuse. It has good milling characteristics. Lodging resistance is good.

MONTEZUMA is a red hay oat (Avena byzantina) released by California in 1969. It is early in maturity and short statured. Lodging resistance is good.

OGLE is a yellow-hulled oat released by Illinois in 1983. It has excellent tolerance to BYDV and has been raised on limited acreage in the PNW. It is a mid-tall, early-maturing cultivar. Test weight and lodging resistance are good.

OTANA is a white-hulled oat released by Montana State University in 1976. It is tall and somewhat susceptible to lodging. Otana consistently has a better test weight than most other PNW cultivars and is a preferred milling oat.

PAUL is a hulless oat released by North Dakota State University in 1993. It is tall and has only fair yield potential in comparison to hulled oat varieties.

PENNUDA is a naked (hulless) oat released by Pennsylvania in 1987. Hulless oats are thought to be beneficial in some feed uses (swine, poultry), but yields to date are low, even if lack of hull is considered.

RIO GRANDE is a tan-hulled oat bred by USDA-ARS scientists at Aberdeen, Idaho. It was released in 1994. It has test weights superior to Cayuse and many other currently grown varieties as well as above average yield potential. Preliminary milling tests show that Rio Grande dehulls poorly. This may limit its food use potential.

SWAN is a tan-hulled oat primarily grown for hay. It was developed in western Australia and introduced into California in 1970. It is very early in maturity and is similar in height to Cayuse.