Dr. Emi Kimura, Extension agronomist, Vernon
(940) 552-9941, emi.kimura@ag.tamu.edu
The AgriLife Extension wheat Picks varieties were selected based on area Uniform Variety Trial (UVT) for grain-only variety trials. Our ongoing Picks criteria include a minimum of three years of data in Texas A&M AgriLife wheat variety trials across multiple locations. A “Pick” variety means this: given the data, these are the varieties we would choose to include and emphasize on our farm for wheat grain production. Picks are not necessarily the numerical top yielders as important disease resistance traits (leaf or stripe rust, wheat streak mosaic virus), insect tolerance (greenbugs, Russian wheat aphid), or standability can also be important varietal traits that enable a producer to better manage potential risk.
Northern Rolling Plains Grain Picks
Dryland
WB4792¶
WB4595¶
TAM 115
Bob Dole
TAM 205
Northern Rolling Plains Grain Watch List
(two years of data or potential addition to date based on 3 years)
Dryland
Dyna-Gro 7322 (beardless, new release little seed available for fall 2023)
Northern Rolling Plains Dual-Purpose Grain + Forage Picks
Dryland
WB4792¶
WB4595¶
Green Hammer
TAM 205
¶Certified Seed Only (CSO).
Contact Dr. Kimura for additional Blacklands/Northeast Texas wheat variety trial results including dual-purpose wheat cropping.
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Further contributions from Dr. Calvin Trostle, AgriLife Extension agronomist, Lubbock
(806) 746-6101, ctrostle@ag.tamu.edu
Certified Seed Only and PVPA: Wheat Varieties
In the past few years many if not most companies have moved to implement additional protections on their wheat varieties. This includes limiting planting to Certified Seed Only (CSO). This is an effort to better recapture the cost of developing and releasing a new wheat variety. This cost can be several million dollars in great part because wheat breeding programs test potentially hundreds of crosses through many generations over multiple locations to find one that is commercially viable. As part of the farmer purchase of a CSO variety farmers are required to sign a Stewardship Agreement with the variety developer. The key regulation is the farmer may NOT save any seed for planting a future crop. This is a contractual matter, not a legal one. If the developer of a CSO variety finds a farmer in violation of a CSO agreement they have the right to seek civil recourse through the court system. If a farmer is unwilling to agree to these terms then simply do not purchase a CSO variety. There are other good variety choices.
Some state breeding programs including Colorado State (via their PlainsGold brand) also have adopted CSO on some varieties. Currently no AgriLife TAM varieties are CSO but there is no assurance this provision may remain in the future.
The Plant Variety Protection Act (1994) allows a farmer to save his or her own harvested grain to the extent of their own acres they intend to plant the next cropping season. The primary reason is to reduce wheat seed purchase costs, which can be substantial over large acreages. PVPA expires at 20 years. Most wheat variety developers also use patents as a means to govern the use and reuse of their varieties. This provision is generally regarded as stronger than PVPA. Texas A&M AgriLife will be updating a previous guide on wheat and PVPA in August 2023. For a 2005 AgriLife review of PVPA see https://varietytesting.tamu.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/17/legacy-files/wheat/docs/plantvarietyprotectionact.pdf
Additional Texas A&M AgriLife Wheat Production Information
The AgriLife wheat group for the Texas A&M High Plains region is preparing multi-year tables for grain yield and test weight, irrigated and dryland. These tables offer an excellent summary of Pick & Watch list performance. Historically the yield advantages of Pick varieties yield 5 to 8% more than vs. all other wheat varieties across the same trials.
For further AgriLife wheat information for the Texas High Plains and statewide visit the online wheat pages at: