New White Wheat

 Wheat producers: The University of Idaho has released two new hard white winter wheats—UICF-Grace and UI Silver—

 UICF-Grace is a hard white winter CLEARFIELD® wheat targeted to dryland production in the Pacific Northwest. CLEARFIELD® wheats resist damage by the grass herbicide imazamox, which controls jointed goatgrass and other important grass weeds. Grace also offers good yield potential with resistance to stripe rust and dwarf bunt. Because it’s tall and tends to lodge under irrigation, it’s recommended for the Pacific Northwest’s rain-fed—non irrigated—fields.

 UI Silver is especially significant because it is one of only a handful of U.S. wheats that carry resistance to a globally threatening race of stem rust called TTKS. Although it’s shorter than UICF-Grace and can be grown under irrigation, UI Silver’s susceptibility to bacterial leaf blight suggests that it, too, is better adapted to dryland than irrigated production in the Intermountain West.

University of Idaho researcher Dr. Jianli Chen says that red rices tend to be more bitter whereas whites: “Have a sweeter taste so for whole wheat and the user products like whole wheat breads, cookies and pizza crusts, industry is looking for more for human health benefit, so hard white has better benefit than hard red.”

Hard whites a  little sweeter than reds so noodles and breads are more palatable. It’s great to have choices when you’re a producer.