IDAHO
UNIVERSITY OF IDAHO
Plant and Soil Science Department, Moscow, ID 83343, USA, and the Agricultural Experiment Station, P.O. Box AA, Aberdeen, ID 83210, USA
R. Zemetra, E. Souza, S. Guy, L. Robertson, P. Berger, N. Bosque-PJrez, M. Lauver, J. Hansen, P. Shiel, K. O'Brien, M. Guttieri, D. Schotzko, Y. Wu, L. Sorensen, J. Clayton, T. Linscott, Z. Wang, and R. McLean.
The 1999 Idaho winter wheat production was 53.9 million bushels, a 15 % decrease from 1998. The decrease in production was due to a decrease in the number of acres planted and harvested compared to 1998. Yield per acre also decreased to 76 bu/acre, further decreasing overall yield. Part of the reduction in yield can be attributed to winter damage from low temperatures in December. Temperatures also stayed cool into mid-spring, reducing the potential for the development of spring tillers to compensate for the tillers lost to winter damage. Because of a moderately severe winter, foliar diseases did not develop until late in the growing season and did not significantly affect production. Because of the short vegetaive period in the early spring, the wheats were shorter than normal, resulting in little or no lodging. Statistics for the Idaho winter wheat production for the last 5 years are in Table 1.
| Year |
Acres planted x 1,000 |
Acres harvested x 1,000 |
Production bu/A |
Yield (bushels) x 1,000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | 830 | 770 | 76 | 58,500 |
| 1996 | 900 | 860 | 80 | 68,800 |
| 1997 | 920 | 870 | 80 | 69,600 |
| 1998 | 820 | 770 | 82 | 63,140 |
| 1999 | 760 | 710 | 76 | 53,960 |
In the last year, two wheat support personnel have left the wheat programs in northern Idaho. Mary Moore resigned her position in the extension program of Dr. Stephen Guy to take a position in with Dr. R. Line, USDA-ARS, wheat pathology, Pullman, WA. Ying Wu, hired as her replacement, previously had been one of the scientific aides in the University of Idaho's barley enhancement program in Aberdeen. Mary Lauver resigned from the SWWW breeding program and moved to western New York. Randy Lawrence joined the wheat breeding program in Moscow as a graduate student. His research will be in the area of genotypic response to direct seeding technology.
The Aberdeen breeding program released the HRW Hayden, in a coöperative arrangement with Colorado State University for the wheat growers of NW Colorado. Hayden was tested under the line number IDO465.
Foundation seed was produced of the newly released HRSW cultivar Iona (IDO492). Iona is a tall, high-protein wheat for rain-fed production where Amidon presently is grown.
The HWSW IDO533 is proposed for release in 2000. IDO533 is a replacement for Idaho 377s. In 99 yield trials across the PNW from 1997-99, IDO533 had a 3 bu/acre higher yield than Idaho 377s, with approximately half the lodging and similar grain quality. The University of Idaho likely will seek a licensed release of IDO533.
Breeder seed was produced of IDO523, a second HWSW. Similar to the Oregon HWS Winsome, IDO523 likely will not be released. IDO533 was submitted to the Asian Products Collaborative Trials sponsored by US Wheat Associates. Three HWWWs, IDO539, IDO550, and IDO551, are currently under evaluation in regional trials. All three are in a large trial with the HWW NuWest to produce seed for the PNW Wheat Quality Council next year. We plan to submit two experimental lines in comparison with NuWest. All four experimental lines are adapted to rain-fed production in southern Idaho. They also are in north Idaho trials conducted by Bob Zemetra. Performance in northern Idaho will be an important factor in selecting HWWW lines for the PNW Wheat Quality Council. Yields of the lines have been comparable to those of the best HRRWs and are shown in Table 2. These lines also have good bread quality and noodle color.
| Cultivar | Class | Height (inches) | Grain yield (bu/acre) | Test weight (lb/bu) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weston | HRW | 40 | 60 | 61.8 |
| Bonneville | HRW | 39 | 59 | 61.7 |
| Utah 100 | HRW | 37 | 65 | 60.1 |
| Boundary | HRW | 31 | 63 | 58.9 |
| IDO513 | HRW | 33 | 66 | 61.1 |
| ID0550 | HWW | 37 | 64 | 60.1 |
| Std. error | 2 | 3 | 0.6 |
The Moscow breeding program decided to not release ID 10085-5 as a cultivar and will instead make it available as a germ plasm release. Soft white winter wheat usually has moderate RWA resistance, primarily antibiosis, but ID 10085-5 also shows some tolerance.
In the 1998-99 growing season, dwarf smut was found on the cultivars Weston and Promontory in the on-farm trial at the Brad Smith farm near Preston, ID. These cultivars have resistance genes Bt9 and Bt10 and have been resistant to PNW dwarf smut populations. In a cursory survey after harvest, the incidence of disease on these cultivars appeared localized along the eastern side of the Cache Valley near the Bear River. Yet, in the original field surrounding the trial, some localized areas had as high as 30 % incidence of bunted tillers with an average for the whole field of approximately 1 %. With Blair Goates and Bob Forster, we are following up to confirm the virulence of these dwarf bunt populations on the full range of PNW HRWWs. We did not observe dwarf bunt on Bonneville either in the Smith trial or in commercial production. Many Idaho HRWW breeding lines and cultivars have different sources of bunt resistance from Weston and Manning. If a race change has occurred, cultivars with alternative sources of resistance like Bonneville may still have viable resistance in the Cache Valley. Based on host-plant resistance genes, Manning, Hansel, Utah 100, and Golden Spike have patterns of dwarf bunt susceptibility similar to those of Weston and Promontory.
Todd Linscott completed his Ph.D. research on the development of molecular markers for RWA resistance in wheat. An AFLP, bulk-segregant analysis was used to identify potential markers for resistance in an F2-segregating population. A marker was identified 5.5 cM from the resistance gene in PI 151918, and a second marker was identified 7.5 cM from the resistance gene in PI 225245. Chromosome-specific microsatellites were used to determine the chromosome location of the resistance genes. The resistance gene in PI 151918 is on chromosome 1DS, and the resistance gene in PI 225245 is on chromosome 7DL. The molecular marker in PI 151918 most likely is linked to Dn4, although based on microsatellite linkage distances, the gene associated with the molecular marker in PI 225245 is not Dn2.
Screening for Hessian fly resistance in spring wheats is being done in the laboratory and field. Segregating populations originating from the crosses 'WGRC20/2*IDO415' and 'IDO470*2/WGRC20' were evaluated for fly resistance in the laboratory. WGRC20 is a HRWW that has the H25 gene for Hessian fly resistance. Progeny plants originating from the crosses exhibited high levels of resistance, although the percentage of resistant plants varied by genotype. A molecular marker technique is being used to confirm the presence of the H25 gene in the resistant plants.
In situ hybridization techniques have been developed to visualize A-, B-, and C-genome chromosomes in backcross progeny of 'wheat/jointed goatgrass' hybrids. Retention of 1, 2, and 3 A/B-genome chromosomes have been observed in BC2S2 plants. A translocation involving an A/B-genome chromosome and a C/D-genome chromosome also was observed in one BC2S2. C-genome visualization appears to be a method to determine the pollen-donor parent in field-derived BC1 plants allowing for a better prediction of the potential for gene movement from wheat to jointed goatgrass (Ae. cylindrica).