July 5, 2001

New Hard Red Winter Wheat ‘Jerry’ Released by NDSU

The North Dakota Agricultural Experiment Station announces the release of ‘Jerry’, a hard red winter wheat. "Jerry is a cross between ‘Roughrider’, ‘Arapahoe’ and a North Dakota State University experimental line," according to Mike Peel, an agronomist in the department of plant sciences at NDSU. "Jerry is white-chaffed and awned and is similar in maturity to Roughrider but about five percent shorter. It has over 40 percent greater resistance to lodging and is similar in winter survival to Roughrider. Jerry also has good resistance to prevalent races of stem and leaf rust."

In 38 trials from 1993 through 2000, Jerry, on average, had a 16 percent greater yield than Roughrider, five percent greater than Seward and a two percent greater yield than Ransom. Protein levels for Jerry were one and one tenth percent greater than Seward but eight-tenths of a percent less than Roughrider.

Dough mixing properties are rated as good to better than Seward and equal to Roughrider. Bread baking performance is equal to Roughrider. Seed of Jerry hard red winter wheat will be allocated through County Crop Improvement Associations. Plant variety protection will be applied for without the Title V provision.

Jerry is the last hard red winter wheat variety that the NDSU experiment station will release. The program was closed in 1995 due to continually declining winter wheat acreage and interest in the crop. The new variety is named after Jerry Johnson, the support staff technician on the project from its inception in 1969 until it closed. He served as the stable factor in this project during its entire existence. He currently works in the durum breeding project.

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Source: Mike Peel, (701) 231-8037, mpeel@ndsuext.nodak.edu
Editor: Rich Mattern, (701) 231-6136, Richard_Mattern@ndsu.nodak.edu