14 new wheat varieties were supported for registration at the Prairie Grain Development Committee annual meeting in Winnipeg.

17 varieties were put forward by breeders. Of the 14 that could possibly come forward for registration, there are five CWRS or Hard Red Spring wheats, five winter wheat varieties, a Hard White wheat, a new Canada Prairie Spring or CPS variety, and several General Purpose wheats.

"A couple of the hard red whites with semi-dwarf stature look very promising, some good yields, good straw strength and better fusarium head blight resistance," says Jim Downey, Research and Development Manager with SeCan. "The new Hard White wheat has very much stronger gluten, which should be desired in the marketplace for both bread and noodle making."

"There's also a new solid stem CWRS wheat which could be promising for the sawfly area," he says.

One of the winter wheat varieties that stands out is WW 454, which Downey notes has a "resistance" rating for fusarium. If registered, it would be the first winter wheat to receive this label.

Several new oat varieties were also put forward for registration.

"OT 2069 from the Winnipeg Research Station looks like it should have some good rust resistance for the eastern prairies," says Downey. "We also have a new flax variety from the Crop Development Centre that's showing higher yields than Bethune."

"There are also several new barley varieties. One is a two-row forage-type variety, similar to CDC Cowboy, and another is a new hulless malting barley which looks like it could be interesting for the markets, too."

The Prairie Grain Development Committee includes four independent bodies: the Prairie Recommending Committee for Wheat, Rye and Triticale, the Prairie Recommending Committee for Oat and Barley, the Prairie Recommending Committee for Pulse and Special Crops and the Prairie Recommending Committee for Oilseeds. Recommendations from these committees are forwarded to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency's Variety Registration Office.

~ Monday, March 14, 2011 ~