Variety selection – is an upgrade needed for your farm?

Dr. Sheri Strydhorst, MSc PhD, PAg, former Agronomy Research Specialist | Alberta Wheat and Barley Commissions

Everyone gets that itch. It is fun to dream about the shiny new pickup truck, the bigger, more powerful combine, or the additional horsepower of a new tractor. While maybe less glamorous, it might also be time to consider upgrading your wheat and barley varieties.

After harvest, it is a great time to assess how your variety performed. Were you happy with how your variety performed relative to your neighbour’s fields? Were there downgrades or yield losses from fungal disease or insect pressure? Did lodging cause harvest headaches?

Annually, the Alberta Wheat and Barley Commissions invest millions of producer levy dollars into breeding and variety development. A recent study shows that farmers receive nearly $33 for every dollar they invest in wheat breeding. The study leads, Dr. Richard Gray and Dr. Katarzyna Bolek-Callbeck from the University of Saskatchewan, determined this 33:1 return on investment based only on yield improvements to keep the estimate as conservative as possible. Including other traits such as improved insect and disease resistance would have further increased return on investment but are dependent on specific environmental conditions and are difficult to assess. Improvements in agronomic practices over the same period were also not included in the final return on investment estimates.

New wheat varieties

In the Canadian Western Red Spring wheat class, growers might want to consider a variety with genetic resistance to orange wheat blossom midge to prevent yield and quality losses from this insect pest. These ‘midge tolerant’ varieties are sold as variety blends to preserve the Sm1 gene. More information about wheat varieties with this genetic trait, the stewardship agreements and forecast maps can be found at midgetolerantwheat.ca.

For durum wheat, there have been significant genetic improvements in the resistance to Fusarium head blight (FHB). AAC Schrader is the first durum variety in Canada and the world with an intermediate resistance rating for FHB. Seed multiplication of this variety is underway and will be available in the next few years.

Dr. Harpinder Randhawa, a spring wheat breeder from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada at Lethbridge, Alberta, has outlined advances in new genetic technologies to manage wheat midge and fusarium in a new Alberta Wheat and Barley Commissions’ extension video available to view on the commissions’ YouTube channel

New malt barley varieties

The malt barley market has been dominated by AC Metcalfe and CDC Copeland, but some buyers are accepting new malt varieties such as CDC Fraser, AAC Connect and CDC Churchill. These new varieties all have yield advantages and improvements in disease resistance ratings. Recent extension videos and data on new malt barley varieties are available at barleyharvest.ca. Since each grain buyer is different, it is important to talk to your malt buyer, before selecting a new variety to ensure acceptance for malt end-use.

Unbiased variety testing

Over the past two years, the commissions have played a significant role in coordinating regional variety testing to provide unbiased comparisons of new cereal varieties. These third-party, independent tests have been generating data for decades and are the cornerstone information source for growers selecting a new variety. Results from the 2022 field trials will be published online at seed.ab.ca in the new year.

It is also important to understand the local adaptability of new wheat and barley varieties. Talking to your local seed growers and neighbours with experience growing new varieties in your local geography is another important source of information.

Realizing the return on investment

The commissions have invested vast amounts of producer levy dollars into variety development and extension tools to share unbiased information on variety performance. To realize the $33:1 return on investment from breeding and variety development investments, growers should consider purchasing a new wheat or barley variety for the 2023 growing season.