Wheat varieties reviewed for Central Texas

By MINDY POEHL | Central Texas Edition

Dr. Gaylon Morgan, Extension agronomist, left, and Russell Sutton, research associate from Dallas, stand in front of wheat variety UGA951079-2E31, as they discuss each wheat variety at Beakley Farm near Waxahachie. -- Photo by Mindy Poehl

April 21, 2005 -Tall patches of different green wheat varieties can be seen at the Beakley Farm Headquarters near Waxahachie, in Bardwell. Texas A&M University uses the Beakley Farm to perform research on different wheat varieties.

On Thursday, April 14, the Texas Cooperative Extension held the Ellis County Wheat Field Day at the Beakley Farm.

"This is an attempt to convey the latest in varietal performance and introduce the new varieties to producers," said Glen Moore, Ellis County Extension agent- IPM. "We're seeing how the varieties hold up."

While going through 75 varieties of wheat, Russell Sutton, research associate out of Dallas, explained which varieties will perform well in the area and which ones are resistant and susceptible to diseases.

"You'll see as we go through the varieties that there are a lot of changes from last year," explained Dr. Gaylon Morgan, Extension agronomist. "We planted mostly hard red winter wheats and soft red winter wheats."

There are three major foliar leaf diseases that occur in Texas wheat fields- leaf rust, stripe rust and powdery mildew. Leaf Rust is considered a warm-season virus that has been observed in the Blacklands and the Southern Rolling Plains of Texas this spring.

"We think we have large amounts of leaf rust because we had a warmer winter than normal," Morgan said.

Stripe rust has been observed in the southern and central Blacklands of Texas. It has not infested wheat as badly as leaf rust, but it can be found on Cutter and Jagalene, which were resistant to stripe rust last year. And, powdery mildew has been observed in some wheat fields in Williamson County, but it is not nearly as bad as it was in 2004.

While examining the hard wheats, Sutton said, "Ogallala is picking up more leaf rust than in the past. It has no stripe rust." Dumas is "not a wheat for this area" and "you'll have to spend some money on Cutter," if you want to grow it, Sutton explained.

"Jagger is susceptible to leaf rust and it has freeze damage. It's one to stay away from," Sutton suggested. "A good one to look at in the future is Fannin."

Morgan added, "It is resistant to powdery mildew."

Endurance and Deliver are two new wheat varieties from Oklahoma State University. Sutton said they look good for the area.

While inspecting the soft wheat varieties, Sutton said Natchez is "an ugly wheat, but it yields pretty well and the resistance is good. Panola has a good potential for this area. Crawford is good to look at if you want to grow a soft wheat," said Sutton.

A new variety that looks good is LA9560, Sutton said. "We're looking for a home for it."

In summary, Sutton said the best hard wheats to grow are most likely Sturdy 2K and Fannin. The best soft wheats are Crawford, Panola and LA481.