Canada Prairie Spring Red Wheat Research Articles

Forefront Canada Prairie spring red wheat

Forefront is an awned hard red spring wheat ( Triticum aestivum L.) cultivar with high yield potential, shorter stature with good lodging tolerance, and excellent rust resistance. During the three years of testing in the High Yield Wheat Cooperative test (2017–19), Forefront yielded similar to and matured one day later than the highest yielding check cultivar AAC Foray. Forefront had 10 cm shorter plants than AAC Foray, with a similar lodging score. Forefront had slightly higher test weight, lower grain weight, and higher grain protein content than AAC Foray. Forefront was rated “resistant” to the prevalent races of leaf, stem, and stripe rusts, whereas “moderately susceptible” to common bunt and Fusarium head blight (FHB) during the three years of testing. The end-use quality characteristics of Forefront were within the range of the checks of the Canada Prairie Spring Red market class.

Increasing grain yield while maintaining baking quality in Canada Western Red Spring wheat

Grain protein concentration (GPC) is considered one of the most important quality factors, and it has remained a major culling criterion in the Canadian wheat cultivar development and registration process. However, grain protein composition also plays a critical role in determining the end-use quality of cereal-based products. The objective of this study was to determine whether high-yielding, lower protein Canada Western Red Spring (CWRS) analog wheat lines can exhibit acceptable baking properties (comparable with CWRS cultivars) under contrasting soil nitrogen levels. Five CWRS-analog lines together with four CWRS and one Canada Prairie Spring Red wheat cultivar, representing wide ranges of quality and grain yield potential, were assessed for agronomic and quality traits in multi-environment trials at three locations and five nitrogen fertilizer rates. CWRS analog lines produced significantly higher grain yield and, on average, 0.9% less GPC than the CWRS cultivars. Despite the lower GPC, CWRS-analog lines such as W07786 exhibited suitable and stable baking performance across all nitrogen levels. Based on the genotype × trait biplot analysis, CWRS-analog baking properties were mainly associated with sodium dodecyl sulfate sedimentation and flour water absorption. Our findings revealed that it is possible to develop wheat cultivars with up to 15% higher grain yield than modern CWRS cultivars and comparable end-use characteristics by reducing current GPC requirements (by up to 1%) while simultaneously selecting for improved baking attributes. This would facilitate an increase in CWRS grain yield genetic gains while maintaining favorable end-use quality and improving the crop competitiveness in western Canada.

AAC Westlock Canada Prairie Spring Red wheat

AAC Westlock, an awned hard red spring wheat ( Triticum aestivum L.) cultivar, combines high grain yield and good agronomic characteristics with excellent resistance to leaf, stripe, and stem rust (including variants of Ug99), Fusarium head blight (FHB), and common bunt. Based on 40 station-years of registration trial data from 2018 to 2020, the grain yield of AAC Westlock was 1% higher than AAC Foray and 7% over AAC Penhold. AAC Westlock was significantly shorter than AAC Foray, had straw strength similar to AAC Penhold, and maturity similar to AAC Foray. AAC Westlock had similar test weight and protein concentration but lower thousand kernel weight as compared to AAC Foray. AAC Westlock had milling and baking quality suitable for grades of the Canada Prairie Spring Red wheat market class.

AAC Perform red spring wheat

AAC Perform, an awned hard red spring wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) cultivar, combines high grain yield and good agronomic characteristics with excellent resistance to leaf, stem, and stripe rust. Based on 43 station years of registration trial data from 2017 to 2019, the grain yield of AAC Perform was about 6% higher than AAC Foray and about 12% over AAC Penhold. AAC Perform was significantly shorter than AAC Foray and had straw strength similar to AAC Penhold. It was about two days later maturing than AAC Foray. AAC Perform had similar test weight, smaller kernel size and lower protein concentration as compared with AAC Foray. AAC Perform had milling and baking quality suitable for grades of the Canada Prairie Spring Red wheat market class.

AAC Castle red spring wheat

AAC Castle, an awned hard red spring wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), cultivar, combines high grain yield and good agronomic characteristics with excellent resistance to leaf, stem, stripe rust, common bunt and loose smut. It also expressed tolerance to the orange wheat blossom midge. Based on 39 station years of data in the registration trials from 2014 to 2016, the grain yield of AAC Castle was about 17% higher than 5700PR but similar to the other checks. AAC Castle was significantly shorter than AAC Foray and CDC Terrain, but had similar lodging resistance and maturity. AAC Castle had higher test weight, protein concentration, falling number and flour yield than AAC Foray and CDC Terrain. AAC Castle is eligible for grade of the Canada Prairie Spring Red wheat market class.

AAC Crossfield red spring wheat

AAC Crossfield, an awned hard red spring wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) cultivar, combines high grain yield and good agronomic characteristics with excellent resistance to leaf, stem, and stripe rust. AAC Crossfield is significantly shorter than Conquer and AAC Foray, and has maturity, straw strength, and test weight similar to the check cultivars. AAC Crossfield has improved farinograph stability and is eligible for grade in the Canada Prairie Spring Red wheat market class.

AAC Penhold Canada Prairie Spring Red Wheat

AAC Penhold, an awned hard red spring wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) cultivar, yielded significantly more grain than check cultivar 5700PR while maturing 2 d earlier and was 7.5 cm shorter in stature. The seed size was significantly larger than 5700PR and 5701PR, with a test weight significantly heavier than both checks. AAC Penhold expressed resistance to prevalent races of leaf rust and common bunt and moderate resistance to Fusarium head blight and stem rust. AAC Penhold had higher grain and flour protein than the checks and improved Hagberg falling number, amylograph viscosity, and water absorption. AAC Penhold is eligible for grades of the Canada Prairie Spring Red wheat market class.

AAC Ryley Canada Prairie Spring Red Wheat

AAC Ryley is an awned semidwarf hard red spring wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) that yielded significantly more grain than check cultivar 5700PR while maturing 1.9 d earlier and growing 5 cm taller. The seed size was significantly larger than 5700PR and 5701PR but the test weight was significantly lower than both checks. AAC Ryley expressed resistance to prevalent races of leaf rust, stem rust, and common bunt. AAC Ryley expressed intermediate resistance to loose smut and moderate susceptibility to Fusarium head blight. AAC Ryley is eligible for grades of Canada Prairie Spring Red wheat.

Conquer Red Spring Wheat

Conquer, an orange wheat blossom midge (Sitodiplosis mosellana Gehin) resistant hard red spring wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), combines good agronomic performance with good resistance to leaf rust, stem rust, stripe rust, and common bunt. Conquer had similar maturity, acceptable straw strength, and higher test weight as compared with check cultivars. Based on end-use quality analyses, Conquer has acceptable quality for the Canada Prairie Spring Red wheat market class.

AAC Tenacious red spring wheat

Brown, P. D., Randhawa, H. S., Mitchell Fetch, J., Meiklejohn, M., Fox, S. L., Humphreys, D. G., Green, D., Wise, I., Fetch, T., Gilbert, J., McCallum, B. and Menzies, J. 2015. AAC Tenacious red spring wheat. Can. J. Plant Sci. 95: 805–810. AAC Tenacious, an orange wheat blossom midge (Sitodiplosis mosellana Géhin) tolerant hard red spring wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), combined good agronomic performance with excellent resistance to Fusarium head blight, leaf rust, stem rust, stripe rust, common bunt, loose smut, and preharvest sprouting. AAC Tenacious had similar maturity, acceptable straw strength, and higher test weight as compared with the check cultivars 5700PR and 5701PR. Based on end-use quality analyses, AAC Tenacious has excellent quality for the Canada Prairie Spring Red wheat market class.

AAC Foray red spring wheat

Brown, P. D., Randhawa, H. S., Mitchell Fetch, J., Fox, S. L., Humphreys, D. G., Meiklejohn, M., Green, D., Wise, I., Fetch, T., Gilbert, J., McCallum, B. and Menzies, J. 2015. AAC Foray red spring wheat. Can. J. Plant Sci. 95: 799–803. AAC Foray, an orange wheat blossom midge (Sitodiplosis mosellana Géhin) tolerant hard red spring wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), combined high grain yield and good agronomic performance with excellent resistance to leaf and stem rust, and improved resistance to Fusarium head blight. AAC Foray had maturity, straw strength, and test weight similar to the check cultivars. AAC Foray is eligible for grade of the Canada Prairie Spring Red wheat market class.

Environmental Effects on the Relative Competitive Ability of Canola and Small-Grain Cereals in a Direct-Seeded System

Growing crops that exhibit a high level of competition with weeds increases opportunities to practice integrated weed management and reduce herbicide inputs. The recent development and market dominance of hybrid canola cultivars provides an opportunity to reassess the relative competitive ability of canola cultivars with small-grain cereals. Direct-seeded (no-till) experiments were conducted at five western Canada locations from 2006 to 2008 to compare the competitive ability of canola cultivars vs. small-grain cereals. The relative competitive ability of the species and cultivars was determined by assessing monocot and dicot weed biomass at different times throughout the growing season as well as oat (simulated weed) seed production. Under most conditions, but especially under warm and relatively dry environments, barley cultivars had the greatest relative competitive ability. Rye and triticale were also highly competitive species under most environmental conditions. Canada Prairie Spring Red wheat and Canada Western Red Spring wheat cultivars usually were the least competitive cereal crops, but there were exceptions in some environments. Canola hybrids were more competitive than open-pollinated canola cultivars. More importantly, under cool, low growing degree day conditions, canola hybrids were as competitive as barley, especially with dicot weeds. Under most conditions, hybrid canola growers on the Canadian Prairies are well advised to avoid the additional selection pressure inherent with a second in-crop herbicide application. Combining competitive cultivars of any species with optimal agronomic practices that facilitate crop health will enhance cropping system sustainability and allow growers to extend the life of their valuable herbicide tools.

Influence of protein segregation on the quality characteristics of Biggar and Genesis Canada Prairie Spring Wheat

The influence of protein segregation on the quality characteristics of Biggar, a Canada Prairie Spring Red wheat cultivar, and Genesis, a Canada Prairie Spring White wheat cultivar has been evaluated using 1989, 1990 and 1991 harvest survey samples. Protein segregation had a strong influence on most physical parameters and processing characteristics all three years. However, the slopes of the regression equations of protein content to values for each quality test exhibited heterogeneity between years. For both wheat cultivars, test weight and kernel weight gave consistently high negative correlations to protein content, indicative of less kernel plumpness at high protein content. The resulting lower endosperm content of the higher protein segregates was reflected by higher wheat ash content, and lower flour yield in 2 of the 3 yr. The milling performance of the higher protein segregates was further diminished by consistently high positive correlations of flour grade color to protein content, indicative of diminishing flour brightness. Flour ash content was not related to protein content for either cultivar, indicating that endosperm ash content was not related to protein content. Flour starch damage, which is directly related to kernel hardness, decreased in response to protein content for both cultivars, with the effect being more pronounced for Genesis. Farinograph dough development time, stability and water absorption increased with increasing protein content. Baking water absorption and loaf volume snowed highly significant positive correlations with protein content. However, baking strength index, a measure of loaf volume on a constant protein basis, decreased with increasing protein content for both cultivars in 2 of the 3 yr. These data demonstrate that marketing Canada Prairie Spring wheat at specified protein levels would facilitate specific customer requirements by optimizing particular quality attributes and improving uniformity between commercial shipments. Key words: Wheat, milling, baking, protein, wheat quality