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

Howard is a semidwarf variety that is best adapted to the growing conditions in central and western North Dakota, but also has performed well in eastern North Dakota. Howard is expected to replace acreage of Reeder and Parshall, both NDSU-released varieties. If Howard were to replace only two-thirds of the acreage occupied by Reeder and Parshall, at current prices, it would generate almost $11.5 million in additional annual income to North Dakota producers, based only on yield advantage. Howard also is expected to replace acreage of Reeder in northeastern Montana, where Reeder is grown on 50 percent of the HRSW acreage.

The parentage of Howard includes the varieties Parshall, Grandin and Amidon, along with several experimental lines. One of the experimental lines is the same one that provided the scab resistance in Steele-ND.

According to NDSU plant pathologists, Howard has a level of scab resistance similar to Steele-ND. It also is resistant to current races of stem and leaf rust. Howard has a higher level of resistance to other predominant leaf diseases than all other NDSU varieties except Dapps.

Howard is similar in maturity to Alsen, a 2000 NDSU release and the predominant HRSW variety grown in the state. Howard is slightly taller, but has slightly weaker straw strength than Alsen. However, the straw strength of Howard is stronger than that of Parshall or Steele-ND.

Howard was named after Howard Olson. Howard served as superintendent and oversaw the relocation and establishment of the NDSU Research Extension Center at Williston at its present site five miles west of Williston. He then was given the responsibility of establishing a new station in central North Dakota. Based on soil type and water availability, he selected Carrington. He then established a new Research Extension Center five miles north of town. Howard is from Sheldon, N.D. Howard was trained as an agricultural engineer at the North Dakota Agricultural College, which is now NDSU.

The HRSW Howard will be allocated through the Crop Improvement Association this spring. The NDSU Research Foundation will apply for plant variety protection with Title V and assess research fees of 30 cents per bushel on registered and certified seed.

In 41 trials conducted between 2003 and 2005 at the Carrington, Prosper, Langdon, Minot, Williston, Dickinson and Hettinger Research Extension Centers, Howard yielded 4.2, 1.6, 0.8, 3.6 and 1.2 bushels per acre more than Alsen, Glenn, Parshall, Reeder and Steele-ND. In 21 trials at the Minot, Williston, Dickinson and Hettinger Research Extension Centers from 2003 to 2005, Howard outyielded Parshall and Reeder by 3.6 and 0.8 bushels per acre. Test weight and average protein of Howard is similar to that of Alsen. Howard has a larger kernel size than either Parshall or Reeder and has excellent milling and baking properties.