University of Minnesota Releases New Spring Wheat Variety, ‘Tom’

At the recent Prairie Grains Conference held in December, Dr. Jim Anderson, University of Minnesota wheat breeder announced that it will release a new spring wheat variety named “Tom.”

The variety was named in memory of Tom Anderson, of Barnesville, MN who passed away last summer.  Tom was a proud member and chairperson of the Small Grains Research & Communications Committee and close friend of the Minnesota Wheat Growers. He was a leader in obtaining state and federal funding for Fusarium Head Blight (scab) research. Tom served a number of other organizations and was recognized numerous times for his contributions and commitment to agriculture.

The variety Tom, tested as MN01311-A-1, is a mid-maturity hard red spring wheat with good scab tolerance. Developed by the University of Minnesota, the pedigree of Tom is (97T-1003/Verde). In testing, Tom has consistently been above average in grain yield with good test weight and protein. The heading date of Tom is similar to Freyr. It is average in height with medium straw strength. Tom has moderate resistance to scab, similar to Freyr. It is resistant to stem rust and moderately resistant to prevalent races of leaf rust and other leaf diseases. According to Dr. Anderson, Tom is resistant the Ug99 race of stem rust in Africa (see sidebar). Tom is resistant to pre-harvest sprouting with good falling numbers. Released by the Minnesota Agricultural Experiment Station, a variety development fee will be assessed on seed sold.