New Hard Red Spring Wheat Has Good Scab Resistance

Steele, a new hard red spring wheat variety, has been developed and released by the North Dakota State University Agricultural Experiment Station, according to Al Schneiter, NDSU Department of Plant Sciences chair.

Steele is a cross between Parshall and ND 706. ND 706 has Amidon and Grandin and several experimental lines in its parentage.

Steele is a semi-dwarf with a heading date and height similar to the high-yielding Reeder variety. Straw strength is similar to Russ but not as strong as Reeder or Alsen, the leading variety in North Dakota. Alsen and Reeder were both developed by NDSU.

The test weight of Steele is about equal to Alsen but the kernels are larger, according to Mohamed Mergoum, NDSU hard red spring wheat breeder. Protein is slightly less than Alsen.

Steele has good resistance to leaf and tan spot and is about equal to Alsen in wheat scab resistance. “In western North Dakota, where diseases are generally less of a problem, Steele has yielded almost equal to Reeder and more than Alsen, according to Mergoum. “In central and eastern North Dakota, where disease pressure is greater, Steele has out-yielded both Reeder and Alsen.”

“NDSU will continue to research varieties of hard red spring wheat that have improved resistance to scab while improving yield and quality,” Schneiter says.

Steele has good milling and baking properties, which are important because of the importance of North Dakota’s export market.

Steele will be allocated through the County Crop Improvement Association this spring. The new variety is named after Steele County in east central North Dakota. The NDSU Research Foundation will apply for Plant Variety Protection with Title V and assess royalties of 30 cents per bushel on registered and certified seed.

Approximately 68 percent of all hard red spring wheat grown in North Dakota was developed by NDSU.

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Source: Al Schneiter, (701) 231-8137, albert.schneiter@ndsu.nodak.edu
Mohamed Mergoum, (701) 231-8478, mohamed.mergoum@ndsu.nodak.edu
Editor: Rich Mattern, (701) 231-6136, richard.mattern@ndsu.nodak.edu