07/23/07 Clearfield wheat experiments

The University of Idaho is getting close to releasing some herbicide resistance wheat varieties that can be used in the Clearfield production system with Beyond herbicide. The primary weed target is jointed goat grass. U of I wheat breeder Bob Zemetra says he likes to backcross in varieties producers are familiar with to create the herbicide resistance. So that's in the pipeline? ZEMETRA "99435 that we are looking at releasing this fall. It performs very similarly to Lambert except for it has the resistance to the chemical. We are about a year away from having a Brundage 96 Clearfield type. We also have coming from the southern Idaho breeding program a tall hard white wheat for the low rainfall areas. I believe we are lacking across the Pacific Northwest is we really don't have much in the way of hard white or hard red winter wheat's that are herbicide resistant." Zemetra says that hard white looks good but this the first year it's been in the trial. Voice of Idaho Agriculture Bill Scott