SDSU Releases Its First Hard White Winter Wheat Variety

South Dakota State University has released its first hard white winter wheat variety, “Wendy,” named in memory of Wendy Wickersham, secretary for South Dakota Wheat Inc. from 2003-2004.

The S.D. Foundation Seed Stocks Division made foundation seed of Wendy available to seed producers for planting in fall 2004, which means grain producers will be able to buy seed for planting in fall 2005.

SDSU winter wheat breeder Amir Ibrahim says that in addition to excellent winter survival ability and high yield potential, Wendy has moderate resistance to stem rust, good resistance to tan spot, and moderate susceptibility to leaf rust and wheat streak mosaic virus.

The variety is best suited for drier conditions; pre-harvest sprouting is a major challenge for the current generation of hard whites. Rain and high humidity following ripening may cause the grains to sprout while they are still in the spikes. “Wendy has acceptable resistance to pre-harvest sprouting, similar to ‘Trego’ but better than ‘Millennium’ and ‘Jerry.’ It will be best adapted to areas west of the Missouri River in South Dakota,” Ibrahim said. “Some hard whites in our breeding pipeline with potential future release have resistance to pre-harvest sprouting that is either close to or similar to our hard reds.”

Ibrahim noted that some soils west of the Missouri River, where Wendy will be highly adapted, are rich in selenium, an antioxidant element that protects against cancer. Wheat is one of the crops that can “mine” selenium from the soil and incorporate it into the grain. Since Wendy has ideal properties for some export markets where soils lack selenium, Ibrahim said there is a possibility that producers can add value to their crop by growing it in selenium-rich soils.

Wendy is naturally low in an enzyme called polyphenoloxidase (PPO), which causes discoloration of raw and alkaline Asian noodles. This, in addition to the fact that Southeast Asia is deficient in selenium, may make Wendy a preferred commodity in many markets there, he said.

He says there is also a growing local market for hard white winter wheat.  “Hard white winter wheat has lower phenolic compounds in the bran than some wheats. That means it is less bitter, so it can be used to produce healthy whole wheat bread that doesn’t require as much sugar during the dough processing. Moreover, the flour will be naturally white and will not require bleaching.”

Late season application of nitrogen is recommended if Wendy is intended for local bread markets to boost higher protein content that is essential for good bread baking quality. There are also export markets for Wendy in the Middle East and North Africa where whole-wheat flatbread (pita and pocket) is consumed in every meal.

“The next potential hard white winter wheat release from our program will be targeted mainly for the bread market. Hard white winter wheat that combines excellent noodle and bread baking quality is in the pipeline, and we anticipate releasing the first variety of this kind in about four years,” Ibrahim said.

A plant variety protection application for Wendy is pending approval by USDA.  The variety was developed in part through the wheat checkoff managed by the South Dakota Wheat Commission that has helped fund Ibrahim’s ongoing work.