NEWS for North Dakotans
Agriculture Communication, North Dakota State
University
7 Morrill Hall, Fargo, ND 58105-5665
June 25, 1998
The North Dakota Agricultural Experiment Station announces the release of Argent, the first hard white spring wheat released by North Dakota State University to producers. Because of its limited use and uncertain market, the variety will not be released for increase through the North Dakota Crop Improvement and Seed Association or the North Dakota Agricultural Association.
Argent is very similar to the variety Grandin in bread-making quality and has good milling characteristics, good dough-mixing properties and good baking quality. Overall, Argent would be rated as having good quality when used as a bread wheat.
Argent is unique in that it has the same quality and use characteristics as hard red spring wheat. Future hard white spring wheat varieties released by NDSU will be of the type used for noodles, not bread.
Argent is awned and agronomically similar to Grandin except for a slightly heavier test weight. Like Grandin, it is moderately susceptible to tan spot and the septoria disease complex, and is resistant to predominant Upper Midwest races of leaf and stem rust. Argent is susceptible to Fusarium head blight (scab).
The new variety, named Argent to reflect its white-seeded character, was developed from an initial cross made in 1987 between Grandin and ND614 by Richard Frohberg of the NDSU Plant Sciences Department.
Plant variety protection will be applied for without the Title V provision. Because Argent is a hard white spring wheat, it must be grown, stored and marketed separately from hard red spring wheat. Funding for the development of Argent came from the North Dakota Wheat Commission.
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Source: Al Schneiter (701) 231-7973
Editor: Barry Brissman (701) 231-7866