Bismark, North Dakota, USA
July 28, 2009
 The
North Dakota Wheat Commission
is pleased with gains made by Divide in durum acres and the
continued strong presence of Glenn in hard red spring wheat
acres.
DURUM
Divide, a 2005 release from North Dakota State University,
surged in acres planted in 2009 and moved into first place at
20.6 percent. This is up from 7.6 percent last year and it
represents the first time in five years that neither Mountrail
nor Lebsock have held the top position. Divide is not only a
high yielding variety with strong agronomic traits and better
disease resistance, but it offers improved end-use quality
characteristics as well. According to Jim Peterson, Marketing
Director, "the fact that more of our 2009 acres were planted to
Divide is a positive that both international and domestic
customers should appreciate. It offers enhanced gluten strength
and color characteristics and, providing harvest weather is also
favorable, buyers should note gains in the base quality of our
durum, as other higher quality varieties also advanced in
acres." These other varieties include Pierce, Alkabo and Grenora
from North Dakota State University, DG Star from Dakota Growers
Pasta and Alzada from Westbred.
Mountrail and Lebsock tied for second place with 16.9 percent of
the acres. While acres are down from last year they remain
popular with producers because of the strong yield and agronomic
characteristics they provide, and in the case of Lebsock, very
high test weights. Pierce and Alkabo round out the top five with
9.4 and 8.9 percent of the acres, respectively. By region,
Divide is the top variety in the northwest district, Lebsock is
the top variety in the north central, north east and central
districts, Pierce is the leading variety in the west central and
Ben is again tops in the southwest.
HARD RED SPRING
Glenn claims top position for North Dakota hard red spring wheat
acres for a third straight year with 24 percent of the acres.
This is down marginally from last year when it peaked at 28
percent. "Glenn offers competitive yields, a strong disease
package, and high grade and protein traits for producers. It
complements this with strong functional quality and end-use
performance attributes for our customers," states Peterson. "To
hold the level of acres it has the past three years, in the face
of competition new, higher yielding varieties, shows the broad
appeal of this variety, even though it is reported to be more
difficult to thresh compared to other varieties," adds Peterson.
Glenn is a 2005 release from NDSU and is the top variety in all
but the three eastern districts in the state.
Faller, a 2007 release from NDSU, made the largest gains of any
varieties in 2009 and advanced to second position with 17
percent of the acres, up from 2 percent. It is the top yielding
variety in many regional trials and has a strong disease and
agronomic package, although lower protein levels compared to
Glenn. Faller was the top variety in the northeast and east
central districts. Briggs, Freyr and Steele-ND, round out the
top five with 7.6, 7 and 5.8 percent of the acres, respectively.
Briggs, a 2002 SDSU release is the top variety in the southeast
district while Freyr, a 2004 AgriPro release, and Steele_ND, a
2005 NDSU release represent strong acreage levels in the western
and central districts.
HARD RED WINTER
Jerry remains the most popular hard red winter variety with 48
percent of the acres. It has been the top variety for six
straight years. Jerry is a 2001 release from NDSU and is noted
for its high level of winter hardiness. The remaining top four
varieties include Jagalene with 10.8 percent, CDC_Falcon with
9.3 percent and Wesley at 7.8 percent. Some new releases which
showed up in the survey for the first time include Hawken,
Expedition and Overland. "Based on the increasing interest in
hard red winter as a crop option in many areas of the state, we
can expect to see an even greater number of new varieties for
winter wheat in the coming years," says Peterson. A major trait
that breeding programs are focusing on, in addition to yield and
winter hardiness is improved disease resistance.
View the
2009 Wheat Variety Survey |
|
