“The K-State wheat breeding program is at the heart of wheat production in the United States. The world-class program has tremendous producer support because of the consistent release of ever-improving options of wheat varieties, whether it is improved disease and pest resistance or increased yields.” ~ Aaron Harries, VP of Research and Operations for Kansas Wheat
Wheat is an age-old staple crucial to western Kansas's agricultural and economic pulse. At the WKREC, our Wheat Research program fosters environmentally and financially sustainable farming practices. Since 1902, our researchers have been dedicated to refining wheat varieties and cultivation techniques tailored to western Kansas's arid and semi-arid plains. We are committed to providing practical solutions for wheat growers. We aim to boost yield potential by developing elite parental lines and hybrids equipped with drought tolerance, disease resistance, and insect resilience. Our wheat research and extension initiatives seek to maximize the sustainability of wheat within Midwest cropping systems, focusing on advancing soil health, optimizing water usage, and ultimately enhancing the sustainable profitability of wheat farming.
Searching for solutions within your county? Reach out to your local extension specialists.https://www.ksre.k-state.edu/about/statewide-locations/Y
Kansas leads the nation with approximately 7.5 million acres planted annually
Kansas wheat generates $1.3 billion annually
Kansas has about 60,000 farmers and about 20,000 of these farmers grow wheat.
“Our goals in the breeding program are to develop new wheat varieties that give Kansas producers top agronomic performance and provide protection from major pests and diseases. It is imperative that the varieties we develop also meet the quality demands of our domestic and international customers.” Gurong Zhang, K-State Wheet Breeder
KSRE Wheat Resources
Our dedicated extension officers across Kansas are committed to offering valuable research and data to enhance grain sorghum production in the Midwest. In theKSRE Bookstore, you'll find the latest research on Wheat Insect Pest Management, Performance Tests, Growth and Development publications, and more.
As the leading state in wheat and grain sorghum production, Kansas boasts rich soils and diverse climatic conditions, influencing optimal planting dates and seeding rates. Recognizing and understanding these variations addressed in theKSRE Wheat Production Handbookis crucial for producers to make informed decisions tailored to the unique growing conditions on their farms.
Order wheat seed from Kansas State University. Since 1954, the Kansas Foundation Seed Project has provided the Kansas seed industry with foundation seed of public varieties. The varieties involved include those originated by the Kansas Agricultural Experiment Station and may include varieties developed by other state experiment stations.
The Kansas Agricultural Experiment Station faculty members conduct ongoing grain and forage sorghum research. TheKAES Research Reportsshare preliminary research results conducted at the Western Kansas Research-Extension Centers.
Kansas, recognized as the Wheat State, holds the title of the nation's leading wheat producer, with farmer wheat production records predating statehood. According to the Kansas Department of Agriculture, Kansas leads the United State's wheat crop production with approximately 7.6 million acres planted and harvested annually accounting for 8.6 percent of the state's agricultural receipts. The wheat industry boasts a direct output surpassing $1.44 billion, generating 3,215 jobs. It indirectly supports 10,487 jobs and contributes approximately $2.57 billion to the state's economy.
Renowned for its hard red winter wheat, Kansas is a global leader in wheat production. The emerging hard white varieties, constituting over three percent of Kansas production, are poised for steady growth, driven by increasing consumer demand for whole grain products. Our Wheat Breeding Program at Kansas State University extends beyond the mere development of new wheat varieties for the state; it encompasses many benefits that significantly impact Kansas farmers and the broader agricultural community.
K-State Wheat Breeding
“Over 80% of the wheat varieties grown in the U.S. have some tie back to K-State, either in the genetics they use, or the breeder or technicians were trained at K-State.” Rollie Sears, retired K-State and AgriPro wheat breeder
Current Wheat Varieties Research
Major breeding objectives for hard winter wheat adapted to western Kansas include high yield, good end-use qualities, and drought tolerance. Control of major pests through host resistance is also a high priority, including resistance to wheat streak mosaic virus, Triticum mosaic virus, barley yellow dwarf virus, stripe rust, leaf rust, stem rust, and Hessian fly.
The Kansas Agricultural Experiment Station announces the release of KS Dallas, a hard red winter wheat. KS Dallas has very competitive yields in western Kansas. Averaged over three years (2017 to 2019) of dryland testing, the yield of this line was 79.8 bu/a, similar to Joe (80.4 bu/a). KS Dallas has good resistance to wheat streak mosaic virus, leaf rust, and stem rust. Its wheat streak mosaic virus resistance can hold up to 21 degrees Celsius (70 degrees Fahrenheit), which is three degrees higher than those resistant varieties with Wsm2, such as RonL, Joe, Clara CL, and Oakley CL. It is intermediate to stripe rust, barley yellow dwarf virus, and Triticum mosaic virus. It is moderately susceptible to powdery mildew and Hessian fly and susceptible to soilborne mosaic virus and acid soil. In general, KS Dallas has an average test weight (~60 lb/bu), good flour yield, and very good mixing tolerance. KS Dallas has medium maturity and medium height. It has medium-long coleoptile length and large kernels. It has good grain-shattering resistance and average straw strength.
The Kansas Agricultural Experiment Station announces the release of KS Silverado, a hard white winter wheat. Silverado has a broad adaptation and competitive yields in western and central Kansas. In western Kansas, Silverado was 2-3 bushels less than Joe in most years. In central Kansas, its mean yield over the last three years (2017 to 2019) was over 2 and 4 bushels more than Joe and KS Venada, respectively. It also performed well under irrigation in western Kansas. Silverado is resistant to leaf rust, soilborne mosaic virus, and Hessian fly. It has moderate resistance to stem rust. It is intermediate to stripe rust, Triticum mosaic virus, and acid soil. It is moderately susceptible to Fusarium head blight, barley yellow dwarf virus, and powdery mildew. In general, Silveradohas good test weight, flour yield, mixing tolerance, and loaf volume. It is well suited for both white flour and whole flour baking. Silverado is medium early and medium short. It has very good straw strength and good pre-harvest sprouting tolerance. Its grain-shattering resistance is moderate, which is similar to Joe.
The Kansas Agricultural Experiment Station announces the release of KS Western Star, a hard red winter wheat. Western Star has very competitive yields in western Kansas. Averaged over three years (2017 to 2019) of dryland testing, yield of this line was 79.3 bu/a, which was very close to Joe (80.4 bu/a). Western Star has very good drought tolerance. Western Star has moderate resistances to stripe and leaf rust. It is resistant to wheat curl mite and soilborne mosaic virus. It is intermediate to stem rust, Fusarium head blight, and Triticum mosaic virus. It is moderately susceptible to wheat streak mosaic virus, and susceptible to Hessian fly. In general, Western Star has good test weight, mixing tolerance, and loaf volume; and very good flour yield. Western Star has medium maturity and medium height. It has very good straw strength and grain shattering resistance.
Wheat improvement efforts at Hays started soon after the turn of the century when the station was first established. Since then, 25 wheat varieties primarily developed at Hays have been released to Kansas wheat producers. Millions of Kansas wheat acres have been planted with Hays-developed varieties. Those varieties include Kiowa, Bison, Eagle, Sage, Kirwin, Larned, Cheney, Arkan, Dodge, Norkan, Ike, Trego, Lakin, Stanton, Danby, RonL, Tiger, Clara CL, Oakley CL, Joe, Tatanka, KS Venada, KS Western Star, KS Silverado, and KS Dallas. Genetic enhancement of wheat at Hays is an integral part of the total Kansas Agricultural Experiment Station’s wheat improvement program. Close cooperation exists between the Hays and Manhattan wheat improvement units. The Hays unit primarily develops varieties adapted to western Kansas while the Manhattan unit concentrates on varieties adapted to central and eastern Kansas.
In 1987, the breeding focus at Hays begin changing gradually to the development of hard white winter wheats. This change in focus culminated in 1998 when the program was almost totally directed toward the development of hard white winter wheats. This change was implemented in an effort to meet a possible increasing demand for Kansas white wheat. However, due to the slow growing demand for white wheat, in 2005 we began to convert part of the Hays program back to hard red wheats. As of 2011, we started to have Hays developed hard red wheat lines in replicated yield tests in western Kansas.
KS Venada has competitive yields in central and western Kansas. Averaged over four years (2015 to 2018) of dryland testing, the yield of this line was similar to Joe and SY Monument in central Kansas and similar to Danby in western Kansas. Venada has a good disease-resistance package. It is resistant to stripe rust, leaf rust, stem rust, and soilborne mosaic virus. It has intermediate resistance to Fusarium head blight (scab) and barley yellow dwarf virus. Venada is intermediate to acid soil. It is susceptible to wheat streak mosaic virus and Hessian fly. In general, Venada has an average test weight, above-average protein content, good flour yield, and excellent baking quality for both white and whole flour. Venada is medium late and medium tall. It has improved pre-harvest sprouting tolerance and straw strength compared to Joe.
Tatanka is a hard red winter wheat variety released in 2016. It has medium maturity and medium height. It has good drought tolerance and has performed well under drought conditions in western Kansas. It has a high yield potential if given moisture. Tatanka has good winter-hardiness and medium-long coleoptile length. It has good tolerance to grain shattering and pre-harvest sprouting. Tatanka is moderately tolerant to acid soil. It has good resistance to stripe rust, stem rust, and soilborne mosaic virus. It is intermediate to scab and barley yellow dwarf virus. It is susceptible to wheat streak mosaic virus and Hessian fly. Learn more about the Tatanka Hard Red Winter Wheat variety in KSRE Publications.
Joe is a hard white winter wheat variety released in 2015. Joe is medium late and medium tall. It has good grain-shattering tolerance. Joe has very competitive yield potential and it performs well in both central and western Kansas. Joe has very good resistance to the three most important diseases in western Kansas: wheat streak mosaic virus, stripe rust, and leaf rust. Joe has an average test weight, good milling quality, and above-average baking quality. It is moderately susceptible to pre-harvest sprouting and soilborne mosaic virus and susceptible to Hessian fly. Learn more about the Joe Hard White Winter Wheat variety at KSRE Publications.
Oakley CL is a hard red winter wheat variety released in 2013. Oakley CL is a one-gene Clearfield wheat. Oakley CL is medium late and medium tall. It has good straw strength and grain-shattering tolerance. It has long coleoptile length. Oakley CL has performed well in western Kansas, especially in northwestern Kansas. Oakley CL has very good resistance to wheat streak mosaic virus, stem rust, and stripe rust. It has the Wsm2 gene for wheat streak mosaic virus resistance. It is resistant to both 2010 and 2012 races of stripe rust. Oakley CL has good milling and baking quality. It has good mixing tolerance. Its test weight is about average.
Clara CL is a hard white winter wheat variety released in 2011. Clara CL is a one-gene Clearfield wheat. It is medium late and medium tall. Clara CL has good tolerance to both grain shattering and pre-harvest sprouting. It performs well in dryland in western Kansas. Clara CL has resistances to leaf rust, stem rust, and wheat streak mosaic virus. It had good stripe rust resistance in 2010, but it was intermediate in 2012 because of the race change. Clara CL is moderately resistant to soilborne mosaic virus and Hessian fly. It has good test weight.
Tiger is a new hard white winter wheat variety developed and released by the Kansas Agricultural Experiment Station in 2010. Foundation seed was distributed to seed producers in 2010. Foundation, Registered, and Certified seed will be available in the fall of 2011. The name Tiger was chosen to honor all the technicians and summer help who worked for the wheat breeding program at the Agricultural Research Center—most attained degrees at Fort Hays University, whose mascot is the Tiger.
Danby is a new, hard white winter wheat variety developed and released by the Kansas Agricultural Experiment Station. Foundation seed was distributed to seed producers in 2005. Foundation, Registered, and Certified seed was first available in the fall of 2006. Learn more about the Danby Hard White Wheat variety at KSRE Publications.
Lakin is a hard white winter wheat variety developed cooperatively by the Kansas Agricultural Experiment Station and the USDA Agricultural Research Service. Agricultural experiment stations in Nebraska and Colorado joined in the release of Lakin. Seed was distributed in these states for fall planting in 2000. Foundation and Registered seed will be available to producers for planting in 2001 and Certified became available in 2002. Read more about the Lakin Wheat Variety on KSRE publications.
RonL is a hard white winter wheat variety developed and released by the Kansas Agricultural Experiment Station. Foundation seed was distributed to seed producers in 2006. Foundation, Registered, and Certified seed will be available in the fall of 2007. RonL was named to honor Dr. Ron Livers's contributions to the Kansas wheat industry by developing such wheat varieties as Eagle, Sage, and Larned during his tenure at the KSU Agricultural Research Center — Hays. Learn more about the RonL Hard White Wheat variety at KSRE Publications.
Trego is a hard white winter wheat variety developed by the Kansas Agricultural Experiment Station. Agricultural Experiment Stations at Nebraska, Colorado, and Oklahoma joined Kansas in the release of Trego. Seed was distributed in these states for fall planting in 1999. Foundation, Registered and Certified seed will be available in 2000. Read more about the Trego Hard White Wheat variety in KSRE publications.
History of Wheat at the WKREC
Since 1902 we've been serving Kansas farmers seeking to increase yields, sustainability, and farm profitabililty.
The Wheat Scoop is a weekly news feature from the Kansas Wheat Commission. Each 3-minute edition brings wheat farmers, the grain industry, and the public updates regarding the marketing and utilization of Kansas wheat. Features range from the breeding of new wheat varieties to domestic and international utilization, as well as new uses, nutrition, and trends in domestic and global wheat foods and wheat flour consumption.
