Source: CropWatch

Hard red winter wheat (left) and hard white winter wheat.

Hard white wheat has some significant advantages over hard red winter wheat. Millers, bakers and consumers prefer white wheat whenever they have a choice. This preference is particularly strong in some international markets that buy wheat from the United States. Despite strong overseas interest in buying hard white wheat to produce noodles, tortillas, breads and other product, the United States continues to produce much more hard red winter and other types of wheat than it does hard white wheat.

When it comes to hard white wheat production in the United States, the one key ingredient still missing is a consistent and reliable supply. It is hoped that this problem will be overcome within the next one to two cropping seasons so that the United States doesn’t risk losing the hard white wheat export market to Canada and Australia. Australia produces only hard white wheat and Canada is rapidly increasing its production. Canada’s production for the 2006 crop year is expected to be nearly twice that of the United State’s.

All production practices (seeding date, seeding rate, fertilization, and harvesting) are alike for hard white wheat and hard red winter wheat. Susceptibility to preharvest sprouting of hard white wheat is the major production concern. Rain, high humidity, and low temperatures after ripening may cause the grain to sprout in the spike. The Nebraska wheat breeding program is making good progress toward overcoming this problem and soon may release a variety where this is much less of a problem.

Growers considering hard white wheat for their farms should consider the following questions before committing to production:

• Do I have a grain buyer identified? Most of the hard white wheat grown in Nebraska is produced within an identity preserved system, where the seed of a proprietary variety is sold to the grower and the grower is under contract to sell the grain back to the company supplying the seed. The release of public varieties of hard white wheat, such as Antelope, is a departure from this system. Although more local elevators are getting set up to handle and market hard white wheat, you’ll need to visit with your local elevators. On-farm grain storage may be an indispensable aspect of white wheat production since elevators may not have sufficient demand to dedicate storage space for white wheat, especially during harvest.
   
• How many years ago did I grow hard red winter wheat on that field? The Federal Grain Inspection Service considers hard red winter wheat and hard white wheat to be contrasting classes. Having more than 1% contamination by a contrasting class results in grade reduction. Therefore, it is important to minimize the amount of volunteer hard red winter wheat that may grow in a field of hard white wheat. Hard white wheat should only be grown on dryland ground that has not been planted to hard red winter wheat for at least three years, or on irrigated ground not planted to hard red winter wheat for at least two years.
   
• Do I have the ability to segregate my hard white and hard red winter wheats? One of the benefits of growing hard white and hard red winter wheats is that the same equipment is used for both crops. However, for reasons explained above, extra attention is needed to avoid mixing the grain of the two wheat classes. Drills, harvesting equipment (combines, trucks, augers, grain carts) and storage facilities must be cleaned to assure that the two classes aren’t mixed.
   
• Do I have the ability to harvest wheat in a timely manner? Hard white wheat varieties are more susceptible to preharvest sprouting than most hard red winter wheat varieties. Rain, high humidity, and low temperatures after ripening may cause the grain to sprout in the spike. Hard white wheat fields should be harvested promptly when ripe to avoid exposure to wet, humid weather.
   
• What variety of hard white wheat should I plant? Two new varieties of hard white wheat will be available to growers this fall. Antelope hard white winter wheat was jointly developed by the USDA-ARS Wheat Sorghum and Forages Unit and the University of Nebraska Department of Agronomy and Horticulture. Antelope was descended from the cross Pronghorn/Arlin. Pronghorn is a Nebraska developed hard red winter wheat, while Arlin is a hard white winter wheat developed by Kansas State University. Antelope seems especially well-adapted to western Nebraska irrigated production. It had the highest three-year average yield of any variety, red or white, in Panhandle irrigated trials from 2000 to 2002, and also performed well under irrigation in Colorado and Wyoming trials.

Arrowsmith hard white winter wheat was jointly developed by the USDA-ARS Wheat Sorghum and Forages Unit and the University of Nebraska Department of Agronomy and Horticulture. Arrowsmith was descended from the cross KS87809-10/Arapahoe. KS87809-10 was a Kansas experimental hard winter wheat with the pedigree KS831374-141B/YE1110. KS8321374-141B was a reselection out of Karl, while YE1110 was descended from Gerek 79, a winter wheat from Turkey, and Aurora, a winter wheat from the former Soviet Union. Arapahoe is a well known Nebraska-bred hard red winter wheat. In Nebraska, Arrowsmith is best adapted to dryland sites in the Panhandle district. Arrowsmith is a tall wheat, similar in height to Pronghorn and Millennium. Coleoptile length is moderately long.

Visit the Virtual Wheat Tour at: www.panhandle.unl.edu/wheat for the most up-to-date information on variety performance and recommendations for Nebraska. To learn more about hard white wheat, visit www.hardwhitewheat.unl.edu. 

Drew Lyon
Extension Dryland Crops Specialist
Panhandle REC, Scottsbluff
Ron Stoddard
Executive Director
Nebraska Wheat Board