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Agricultural Research Center – Hays

Wheat Breeding

 

Dr. Guorong Zhang 

Wheat improvement efforts at Hays started soon after the turn of the century when the station was first established. Since then, 25 wheat varieties primarily developed at Hays have been released to Kansas wheat producers. Millions of Kansas wheat acres have been planted with Hays-developed varieties. Those varieties include Kiowa, Bison, Eagle, Sage, Kirwin, Larned, Cheney, Arkan, Dodge, Norkan, Ike, Trego, Lakin, Stanton, Danby, RonL, Tiger, Clara CL, Oakley CL, Joe, Tatanka, KS Venada, KS Western Star, KS Silverado, and KS Dallas. Genetic enhancement of wheat at Hays is an integral part of the total Kansas Agricultural Experiment Station’s wheat improvement program. Close cooperation exists between the Hays and Manhattan wheat improvement units. The Hays unit primarily develops varieties adapted to western Kansas while the Manhattan unit concentrates on varieties adapted to central and eastern Kansas.

In 1987, the breeding focus at Hays begin changing gradually to the development of hard white winter wheats. This change in focus culminated in 1998 when the program was almost totally directed toward the development of hard white winter wheats. This change was implemented in an effort to meet a possible increasing demand for Kansas white wheat. However, due to the slow growing demand for white wheat, in 2005 we began to convert part of the Hays program back to hard red wheats. As of 2011, we started to have Hays developed hard red wheat lines in replicated yield tests in western Kansas.

Major breeding objectives for hard winter wheats adapted to western Kansas include high yield, good end-use qualities, and drought tolerance. Control of major pests through host resistance is also a high priority, including resistance to wheat streak mosaic virus, Triticum mosaic virus, barley yellow dwarf virus, stripe rust, leaf rust, stem rust, and Hessian fly.

Current Research Projects

 

KS Dallas Wheat Variety

The Kansas Agricultural Experiment Station announces the release of KS Dallas, a hard red winter wheat.  KS Dallas has very competitive yields in western Kansas. Averaged over three years (2017 to 2019) of dryland testing, yield of this line was 79.8 bu/a, which was similar to Joe (80.4 bu/a).  KS Dallas has good resistances to wheat streak mosaic virus, leaf rust, and stem rust. Its wheat streak mosaic virus resistance can hold up to 21 degrees celsius (70 degrees fahrenheit), which is three degrees higher than those resistant varieties with Wsm2, such as RonL, Joe, Clara CL, and Oakley CL. It is intermediate to stripe rust, barley yellow dwarf virus, and Triticum mosaic virus. It is moderately susceptible to powdery mildew and Hessian fly, and susceptible to soilborne mosaic virus and acid soil.  In general, KS Dallas has average test weight (~60 lb/bu), good flour yield, and very good mixing tolerance.  KS Dallas has medium maturity and medium height. It has medium-long coleoptile length and large kernels. It has good grain shattering resistance and average straw strength.

KS Silverado Wheat Variety

The Kansas Agricultural Experiment Station announces the release of KS Silverado, a hard white winter wheat.  Silverado has a broad adaptation and it has competitive yields in both western and central Kansas. In western Kansas, Silverado was 2-3 bushels less than Joe in most years. In central Kansas, its mean yield over the last three years (2017 to 2019) was over 2 and 4 bushels more than Joe and KS Venada, respectively. It also performed well under irrigation in western Kansas. Silverado has good resistance to leaf rust, soilborne mosaic virus, and Hessian fly. It has moderate resistance to stem rust. It is intermediate to stripe rust, Triticum mosaic virus, and acid soil. It is moderately susceptible to Fusarium head blight, barley yellow dwarf virus, and powdery mildew. In general, Silverado has good test weight, flour yield, mixing tolerance, and loaf volume. It is well suited for both white flour and whole flour baking.  Silverado is medium early and medium short. It has very good straw strength and good pre-harvest sprouting tolerance. Its grain shattering resistance is moderate, which is similar to Joe.

KS Western Star Wheat Variety

The Kansas Agricultural Experiment Station announces the release of KS Western Star, a hard red winter wheat.  Western Star has very competitive yields in western Kansas. Averaged over three years (2017 to 2019) of dryland testing, yield of this line was 79.3 bu/a, which was very close to Joe (80.4 bu/a). Western Star has very good drought tolerance.  Western Star has moderate resistances to stripe and leaf rust. It is resistant to wheat curl mite and soilborne mosaic virus. It is intermediate to stem rust, Fusarium head blight, and Triticum mosaic virus. It is moderately susceptible to wheat streak mosaic virus, and susceptible to Hessian fly.  In general, Western Star has good test weight, mixing tolerance, and loaf volume; and very good flour yield.  Western Star has medium maturity and medium height. It has very good straw strength and grain shattering resistance.

 

Other Wheat Varieties

 

KS Venada Wheat Variety

KS Venada has competitive yields in central and western Kansas. Averaged over four years (2015 to 2018) of dryland testing, yield of this line was similar to Joe and SY Monument in central Kansas and similar to Danby in western Kansas. Venada has a good disease-resistance package. It is resistant to stripe rust, leaf rust, stem rust, and soilborne mosaic virus. It has intermediate resistance to Fusarium head blight (scab) and barley yellow dwarf virus. Venada is intermediate to acid soil. It is susceptible to wheat streak mosaic virus and Hessian fly.  In general, Venada has an average test weight, above average protein content, good flour yield, and excellent baking quality for both white and whole flour. Venada is medium late and medium tall. It has improved pre-harvest sprouting tolerance and straw strength compared to Joe. 

Tatanka Wheat Variety

Tatanka is a hard red winter wheat variety released in 2016. It has medium maturity and medium height. It has good drought tolerance and has performed well under drought conditions in western Kansas. It has high yield potential if giving the moisture. Tatanka has good winter-hardiness and medium-long coleoptile length. It has good tolerance to grain shattering and pre-harvest sprouting. Tatanka is moderately tolerant to acid soil. It has good resistance to stripe rust, stem rust, and soilborne mosaic virus. It is intermediate to scab and barley yellow dwarf virus. It is susceptible to wheat streak mosaic virus and Hessian fly.

Joe Wheat Variety

Joe is a hard white winter wheat variety released in 2015. Joe is medium late and medium tall. It has good grain shattering tolerance. Joe has very competitive yield potential and it performs well in both central and western Kansas. Joe has very good resistance to the three most important diseases in western Kansas: wheat streak mosaic virus, stripe rust, and leaf rust. Joe has an average test weight, good milling quality, and above average baking quality. It is moderately susceptible to pre-harvest sprouting and soilborne mosaic virus, and susceptible to Hessian fly.

Oakley CL Wheat Variety

Oakley CL is a hard red winter wheat variety released in 2013. Oakley CL is a one-gene Clearfield wheat. Oakley CL is medium late and medium tall. It has good straw strength and grain shattering tolerance. It has long coleoptile length. Oakley CL has performed well in western Kansas, especially in northwestern Kansas. Oakley CL has very good resistance to wheat streak mosaic virus, stem rust, and stripe rust. It has the Wsm2 gene for wheat streak mosaic virus resistance. It is resistant to both 2010 and 2012 races of stripe rust. Oakley CL has good milling and baking quality. It has good mixing tolerance. Its test weight is about average.

Clara CL Wheat Variety

Clara CL is a hard white winter wheat variety released in 2011. Clara CL is a one-gene Clearfield wheat. It is medium late and medium tall. Clara CL has good tolerance to both grain shattering and pre-harvest sprouting. It performs well in dryland in western Kansas. Clara CL has resistances to leaf rust, stem rust, and wheat streak mosaic virus. It had good stripe rust resistance in 2010, but it was intermediate in 2012 because of the race change. Clara CL is moderately resistant to soilborne mosaic virus and Hessian fly. It has good test weight.

Tiger Wheat Variety

Tiger is a new hard white winter wheat variety developed and released by the Kansas Agricultural Experiment Station in 2010. Foundation seed was distributed to seed producers in 2010.  Foundation, Registered, and Certified seed will be available in the fall of 2011. The name tiger was chosen to honor all the technicians and summer help that worked for the wheat breeding program at the Agricultural Research Center. Most attained degrees at Fort Hays University, whose mascot is the Tiger.

Danby Wheat Variety

Danby is a new, hard white winter wheat variety developed and released by the Kansas Agricultural Experiment Station. Foundation seed was distributed to seed producers in 2005.  Foundation, Registered, and Certified seed will be available in the fall of 2006.

Lakin Wheat Variety

Lakin is a hard white winter wheat variety developed cooperatively by the Kansas Agricultural Experiment Station and the USDA Agricultural Research Service. Agricultural experiment stations in Nebraska and Colorado joined in the release of Lakin. Seed was distributed in these states for fall planting in 2000. Foundation and Registered seed will be available to producers for planting in 2001 and Certified seed should be available in 2002.

RonL Wheat Variety

RonL is a hard white winter wheat variety developed and released by the Kansas Agricultural Experiment Station. Foundation seed was distributed to seed producers in 2006. Foundation, Registered, and Certified seed will be available in the fall of 2007. RonL was named to honor the contributions that Dr. Ron Livers made to the Kansas wheat industry by developing such wheat varieties as Eagle, Sage, and Larned during his tenure at the KSU Agricultural Research Center — Hays.

Trego Wheat Variety

Trego is a hard white winter wheat variety developed by the Kansas Agricultural Experiment Station. Agricultural Experiment Stations at Nebraska, Colorado, and Oklahoma joined Kansas in the release of Trego. Seed was distributed in these states for fall planting in 1999. Foundation, Registered and Certified seed will be available in 2000.

 

 

 

Contact Information

 Gurong Zhang

Guorong Zhang
Wheat Breeder
KSU Ag Research Center
1232 240th Avenue
Hays, Kansas 67601-9228
Phone: 785-625-3425 x213
Fax: 785-623-4369
Email: gzhang@ksu.edu
website: Research Program