Growers advised to experiment with multiple varieties

By MATTHEW WEAVER

Capital Press

University researchers say stripe rust resistance is a big factor farmers should consider when deciding which new varieties to plant.

"Stripe rust has really thrown a big curve in everything out there," said Stephen Guy, Washington State University extension agronomist.

Mike Flowers, Oregon State University extension cereal specialist, said the varieties that stood out in his trials were the ones with better resistance to stripe rust. He singled out variety ORCF-101R, which will eventually replace ORCF-101, as faring even better than its original parent, which also performed well. That variety will likely be available to farmers in the fall of 2012.

Flowers said ORCF-102 is yielding well in his trials, considering the amount of stripe rust it took during the year. AP700PL has better rust resistance but didn't yield as well due to the early infection, he said.

Flowers cited varieties like OSU's Skiles, Syngenta's Legion and SY Ovation and WestBred's WB Junction as also performing well under rust conditions.

Guy said some varieties that stand out for resistance include the club wheats J.D. and Cara and soft white wheat Legion.

Hard red wheat varieties didn't fare as well, Guy said, but some breeding materials show good resistance and may move forward quickly through Arron Carter's winter wheat breeding program at WSU.

California hard red wheat variety Lassik performed better, but had lower protein, he said.

Some of the varieties might not require fungicide application during a normal stripe rust year, Guy said.

Guy disagrees with the sentiment that stripe rust resistance doesn't matter because of fungicide availability.

"Relying on genetic resistance to help out with the fungicides we have available is really a good approach to managing stripe rust," Guy said.

Guy expects a lot of stripe rust pressure next year, but he also realizes farmers have other characteristics to consider in their planting decisions, such as yield, quality, test weight and protein levels.

"It's not just one simple selection criteria we're going to base everything on," Guy said. "There are other diseases we need to be concerned about as well."

For example, there are higher levels of potential for foot rot than previous years, he said.

Flowers recommended keeping an eye out for early-season diseases like cephalosporium stripe or crown rot. Emergence is important for those who are deep-seeding, he said.

Flowers advises growers to choose multiple varieties, rather than pin all their hopes on one. When trying a new variety, Flowers advises farmers to try it out on small acreage and gradually build up their experience.

"Sometimes a variety will fall down, and you want to make sure you don't have all your eggs in one basket," he said. "Take baby steps into them."

Online

http://variety.wsu.edu

http://cropandsoil.oregonstate.edu/wheat/state_performance_data.htm (will be updated with 2011 data by the end of the week of August 15, according to Flowers)