OREGON
OREGON STATE UNIVERSITY
Crop and Soil Science Department, Corvallis, OR 97331-3002 USA.
C.J. Peterson, W.E. Kronstad, M.L. Verhouven, R. Karow, and O. Riera-Lizarazu.
Oregon wheat production was down dramatically in 1999 with an average yield of 47.0 bu/acre, which was 20.0 bu/acre less than average yields in 1998. Lower wheat yields were primarily due to extensive drought conditions. Precipitation at key locations in eastern Oregon averaged from 2 inches to as much as 5 inches less than normal during the growing season. In addition, a cold snap 21-23 December caused significant damage to less winter-hardy varieties, such as Gene. Air temperatures reached 0-5°F for three nights with minimal snow cover. Soil temperatures dropped to under 24°F at many locations. Fortunately, varieties that accounted for the majority of production acreage, such as Stephens and Madsen, generally were not affected.
Foundation seed of four new wheat varieties were released to growers in 1999-2000:
Weatherford is a SWWW variety adapted to production areas of north central Oregon. The variety was derived from the cross 'Malcom/3/VPM/MOS 951//Hill/4/VPM/MOS 951//2*Hill'. Weatherford carries the VPM resistance to P. herpotrichoides and is moderately resistant to stripe rust, leaf rust, common bunt, and powdery mildew. The cultivar is moderately susceptible to Cephalosporium stripe. Similar in maturity to Madsen, Weatherford has a level of winter hardiness similar to that of Stephens. End-use quality characteristics of Weatherford are similar to those of Stephens and Madsen. Weatherford averaged 106 bu/acre grain yield over eight locations in the 1999 Oregon State-wide Variety Trials, the same as for Stephens and Madsen. Rod and MacVicar were the only released varieties that were higher yielding. Weatherford is expected to perform relatively better than Stephens in years with higher incidence of diseases, such as Cercosporella foot rot and Cephalosporium stripe.
Foote is a SWWW variety adapted to production in the Willamette valley of Oregon. Foote was derived from a complex cross of 'spring x winter' parentage; 'Heima//Kalyansona/Bluebird/3/WWP7147, F1/4/D6301/Heines VII//Era/3/Buckbuck'. Foote was released for its superior foliar disease resistance. The variety is resistant to S. tritici, powdery mildew, stripe rust, leaf rust, P. herpotrichoides, and common bunt. Foote has overall end-use quality similar to those of Stephens and Madsen. Foote performed relatively poorly in the 1999 State Variety Trials because of the high degree of winter damage in the eastern Oregon trials. Foote was shown to have substantially less winterhardiness than Gene, reinforcing the need to limit its production to the Willamette Valley.
Temple is a SWCW variety adapted to northcentral Oregon. Temple was derived from a cross between Tres and VPM 1. Temple has the VPM resistance to P. herpotrichoides and is resistant to stripe rust. Temple has superior test weight, flour yield, and cookie diameter compared with those of Tres, Paha, and Omar. Temple performed similar to Rohde and Tres for grain yield in the 1999 trials, but had lower average yields compared with Coda or Hiller. However, the earliness of Temple combined with Cercosporella footrot resistance should be attractive for many club wheat growers.
Winsome is a HWSW variety developed in collaboration with CIMMYT and released by OSU in February, 2000. Winsome was selected from the 18th IBWSN and derived from the cross 'Hork's'/Yamhill//Kalyansona/Bluebird'. Winsome is a medium-late maturing semidwarf with resistance to stripe rust and leaf rust. In the 1999 Oregon state-wide spring variety trials, Winsome averaged 62 bu/acre compared with 64 bu/acre for ID377S (HWSW) and 65 bu/acre for Penawawa (SWSW). Winsome has superior end-use qualities for Asian noodle applications and will be complementary to ID377S for hard white production and marketing in the PNW. Winsome has superior milling quality, lower flour ash, and improved bread-making quality compared with ID377S.
OR939526 is one of several SWWW selections from the cross 'Madsen/Malcom' that have VPM resistance to Cercosporella foot rot combined with resistance to common bunt and stripe rust. OR939526 has shown a significant yield advantage over Stephens, Madsen, and Weatherford in eastern Oregon trials. The line appears to have slight advantages in yield potential and test weight over the sister selections OR939515 and OR939528, but has shown slightly higher infection levels of stripe rust. End-use quality attributes of OR939526 are essentially similar to those for Stephens and Weatherford and considered acceptable for soft wheat products. Headrows of OR939526 were planted for purification and possible submission of breeder seed to Washington Foundation Seed next autumn.
The HWWW Ivory was withdrawn from release in 1999 because of variability in plant type and end-use quality. Fifty six reselections were evaluated in field and laboratory trials in 1999. Forty-four selections were discarded because of soft kernel texture, high PPO activity, or poor gluten quality. The 12 remaining lines were advanced for further testing in 2000. Two of the most promising Ivory reselections (OR850513-8 and OR850513-9) were advanced to the State-wide Variety Trials, and seven reselections were provided to Washington Foundation Seed for production of breeder seed in 2000. If results of agronomic trials and quality evaluations remain promising, one of the Ivory reselections may be released in August, 2001.
A collaborative study with the Wheat Marketing Center, Portland, OR, was initiated to examine multiproduct qualities of our advanced hard white experimental lines. Grain samples of five hard white wheats and Stephens at multiple protein levels were obtained from our 1999 fertility trials. The hard white flours will be evaluated for Chinese raw noodles, steam bread, and pan bread quality, using an appropriate protein level for each product application. Potential to develop true multiproduct qualities in hard whites will be examined in relation to genetic variations for protein quality, starch quality, hardness, and milling.
Efforts to develop imidazolinone herbicide-resistant varieties are continuing in collaboration with American Cyanamid and OSU Weed Scientists Dan Ball and Carol Mallory-Smith. A significant number of white-seeded IMI selections have now been identified. A small yield trial of IMI-resistant advanced lines was planted for the first time this last fall. The majority of our IMI-resistant germ plasms, both hard and soft, is now in the F2-F5 generations. A potentially large number of soft and hard white selections could be moved into yield trials in autumn 2000.
Several new research studies were initiated in 1999, including: with Oscar Riera-Lizarazu, OSU Cereals Geneticist, on development of mapping populations for identification of disease resistance and quality traits, and with OSU Pathologists Dick Smiley and Chris Mundt, on evaluation of germ plasm for Fusarium foot rot and Cephalosporium stripe resistance. Strategies for N management and genetic control of protein content in hard white germ plasm will be pursued in collaboration with Agronomists Neil Christensen and Don Wysocki. Variety development for directseeding applications is being pursued in collaboration with Wysocki, Smiley, Mundt, and USDA-ARS researchers at Pendleton, OR.