Winter Wheat Varieties with an Eastern Nebraska Fit

Figure 1. UNL variety trials conducted in eastern Nebraska are an important process to help guide grower’s variety selection.

September 27, 2018

Teshome Regassa - Research Assistant Professor

Stephen Wegulo - Extension Plant Pathologist

Megan Taylor - Former Extension Educator

Winter wheat planting is upon us in eastern Nebraska as soybean harvest progresses. According to the latest comprehensive USDA-NASS data (2016), growers in eastern Nebraska planted nearly 82,000 acres. Most growers have already selected varieties they are going to plant this season. However, there are some newer varieties to watch this coming growing season in company and university trials that are targeted for eastern Nebraska.

Newer Varieties with Improved Fusarium Head Blight Resistance

Zenda – released in 2016 by the Kansas Wheat Alliance and tested from 2016-2018 in the eastern Nebraska UNL variety trials. Zenda is a medium-maturing medium-height variety with great standability and test weight. It has ranked fourth for yield across locations over the past three years. Kansas Wheat Alliance placement is east central and southeast Nebraska. Zenda Tech Sheet

WB4269 – released in 2017 by WestBred and tested in 2017 and 2018 in the eastern Nebraska UNL trials. WB4269 is an early-maturing short-statured variety with great standability. It ranked third for yield across locations over the past two years. Company placement is all of eastern Nebraska. WB4269 Tech Sheet

AM Eastwood – released in 2017 by AgriMaxx and tested last year in the eastern Nebraska UNL variety trials. AM Eastwood is an early-maturing short-statured variety with company placement across eastern Nebraska. AM Eastwood Tech Sheet

SY Benefit – released in 2018 by AgriPro and tested this past year in the eastern Nebraska UNL variety trials. SY Benefit is an early-maturing medium-height variety with the best Fusarium head blight (FHB) resistance in the AgriPro lineup. Company placement is all of eastern Nebraska. SY Benefit Tech Sheet

WB4699 – released this year by WestBred and to be tested in the eastern Nebraska UNL variety trials this season. WB4699 is a medium-maturing short-statured variety with company placement across eastern Nebraska. WB4699 Tech Sheet

Other new varieties (moderately susceptible to FHB) released in 2017 and 2018 with seed company placement for eastern Nebraska include Siege from NuPride, LCS Link, WB4418, and WB4595.

New Table to Help with Winter Wheat Variety Selection in Eastern Nebraska

Company representatives (WestBred, AgriPro, Limagrain Cereal Seeds, AgriMaxx) were contacted or company placement tools (Kansas Wheat Alliance and Dyna-Gro) were utilized to create a list of hard red winter wheat varieties recommended for placement in the eastern Nebraska growing region. Variety trait rankings were created from numerous sources, including UNL variety trial data in Nebraska and publications by the University of Nebraska, Kansas State University, Oklahoma State University, South Dakota State University, Colorado State University, and seed companies. There are footnotes below the table explaining the use of various data sources for the ratings. These ratings may change as additional data becomes available.