Fort Collins, Colo. – PlainsGold® will market four new wheat varieties in 2025. Foundation seed of Outlaw, Gabriel, Broad AX, and Hoyt SF will be sold beginning in September.
“These four new varieties will add diversity to the PlainsGold® lineup and give wheat growers more tools to deal with the challenges they face in wheat production across the High Plains and Central Plains,” said Brad Erker, Executive Director for the Colorado Wheat Research Foundation.
Outlaw (formerly EXP CO19D087R), a hard red winter wheat, is positioned as a replacement for Langin, which has been the number one variety planted in Colorado in five of the last six years. Outlaw is derived from Langin and an unreleased sisterline to Canvas, which has performed well across the Central Plains. Outlaw has been outyielding both Langin and Canvas by more than three bushels/acre, and has a nice genetic package, including genes for tolerance to Triticum Mosaic Virus, stripe rust, and lower pH soils.
Gabriel (formerly EXP CO200037R), another hard red winter wheat, plays defense by bringing the wsm-3 gene to the market, the first of its kind to do so. The wsm-3 gene delivers tolerance to the entire mosaic virus complex, which includes Triticum Mosaic Virus, Wheat Streak Mosaic Virus, and High Plains Virus. This virus complex has been increasing in severity and causing significant yield losses to wheat growers in certain areas. Gabriel was bred by backcrossing the wsm-3 gene from a Kansas germplasm source into Canvas, and is therefore 94% Canvas by pedigree. It has very good straw strength, good test weight, excellent protein, and good yield potential for the Central and High Plains regions. Gabriel’s combination of a gene for resistance to the wheat curl mite, coupled with wsm-3, is expected to give it superior performance in areas where virus pressure is of high concern.
“The name Gabriel resonated with the CWRF Board as it was the name of a fellow seed grower’s oldest son who tragically passed away,” said Tyler Benninghoven, PlainsGold® Seed and Trait Specialist.
Broad AX (formerly EXP CO21SF191RA), is a new CoAXium® hard red winter wheat. Broad AX carries the Axigen® trait which allows it to be sprayed with Aggressor AX® herbicide, providing control options to growers for winter annual grassy weeds such as downy bromegrass, feral rye, and jointed goatgrass. Broad AX also has slightly increased stem solidness that may provide some protection against mild wheat stem sawfly pressure. It is tall, late maturing, has a long coleoptile, and has average straw strength. Its best performance to date has been in Nebraska and Montana.
Hoyt SF (formerly EXP CO20SFD020R), is a semi-solid hard red winter wheat similar to Amplify SF and Fortify SF. Its stem solidness provides tolerance to the wheat stem sawfly, which continues to be a significant insect pest for wheat production in Northeastern Colorado. Hoyt SF is less solid than Amplify SF, but has better tolerance to Wheat Streak Mosaic and Triticum Mosaic viruses, in addition to having higher yields compared to Amplify SF and Fortify SF.
These varieties were developed by the Wheat Breeding and Genetics Program at Colorado State University (CSU). Through a long-standing partnership between CSU and CWRF, ownership has been transferred to CWRF, which will market the varieties under its PlainsGold® brand across seven states.
Wheat farmers can find more information on PlainsGold®, including a list of all seed growers, at www.PlainsGold.com, or by contacting the PlainsGold® office toll-free at 1-800-WHEAT-10, or (970) 449-6994.