06/24/08 Xerpha soft white winter wheat is widely adapted

Farm and Ranch June 24, 2008 Xerpha is a new soft white winter wheat from the breeding program of Steve Jones at Washington State University, which he says is expected to quickly take out serious acreages of the popular Eltan and Madsen varieties as well as Tubbs. Jones says Xerpha is a widely adapted wheat. Jones: "Xerpha is the top yielding wheat in the state of Washington the past two years. That is the overall yield. It is also the highest yielding wheat in the low rainfall, the intermediate and the high rainfall zone. So it is really a highly adapted wheat and that is unusual. Usually breed a little more specifically to wet or dry or something like that." In variety testing at St. John, Washington last year Xerpha went 178 bushels an acre. And 2007 trials show its adaptation is not just in Washington. Jones: "Southern Idaho it was the top or equal the top in all their nurseries. Oregon it was eight out of ten nurseries it was top or equal to. It even topped northern California. So the University of California in the Siskyous and Tule Lake it was the top yielder there. So it is really widely adapted." Jones says Xerpha has a good disease package, good straw strength and has good end use quality. The WSU breeder emphasizes that it only took eight years from the first cross to get Xerpha to growers. Foundation seed will be available this fall. I'm Bob Hoff and that's the Northwest Farm and Ranch Report on the Northwest Ag Information Network.