Menu
An important component of the wheat research agenda is breeding and developing new varieties. One of the new high-tech components of that work involves drone imagery to monitor field attributes of new varieties throughout the growing season.
By Dr. Eric Olson, MSU Wheat Breeder
2022-2023 Improved Methods for Assessing Preharvest Sprouting and Applications in Resistant Variety Development
In his Michigan State University wheat breeding research, Dr. Eric Olson not only looks at disease resistance and yield – but also the performance of the end product for the milling and baking industries.
2022 results. In year one (2022), this project utilized Ambassador, Jupiter and Dyna-Gro 9242W soft white winter wheat varieties obtained in 2021 in Mason, Michigan.
Each variety was malted at predetermined intervals, incubated and milled. Falling numbers, kernel weight, moisture content and glucose. In particular, the relationship between the malting times and falling number and glucose concentration variables was studied for each wheat variety – with significant differences noted.
2023 results. In the second year, Olson expanded on the first-year work by altering the quantities of grain malted and the concentration of malt. He also added the preharvest sprouting experiment, and his report includes the protocol followed for that work.
Also in 2023, the Olson team added four soft red winter wheat varieties: Harbor, Hilliard, P25R40 and SY 100. And one hard red winter wheat variety: Catawba. The soft white winter wheat line-up was expanded to include Moonlight and Whitetail, in addition to Ambassador, Jupiter and Dyna-Gro 9242W.
The conclusion is that both soft red and soft white wheat varieties have variation in falling number across a 24-hour malting window. This supports the idea that there are differences between varieties. Olson noted the most common time for fastest starch degradation was between 16-18 hours of malting.
The reports include many more technical details of particular interest to the milling and baking industries, which may be making recommendations to growers.
Click below to review the 2022 and 2023 final reports.
2022-2023 Development Work on Soft Winter Wheat Varieties for Michigan
A key component Dr. Olson’s program is developing an array of new soft wheat varieties that will be high yielding with improved quality and disease resistance for Michigan growers and flour millers. He was funded for a two-year project to implement a pipeline to new wheat varieties. He and his lab have hybridized, reviewed and evaluated yields for thousands of potential new wheat varieties for Michigan.
Following are some of those data.
2023 Work. In 2023, there were eight soft white winter and 14 soft red wheat lines tested in the Michigan commercial yield trial. In total that trial had 102 varieties and experimental lines. Read the full 2023 Michigan State Wheat Performance Trials Report by clicking here. https://miwheat.org/wp-content/uploads/2023-Final-Report.pdf. From this trial seven soft red winter wheat lines were advanced to a second year of commercial testing (2024).
Advanced Yield Trials including 35 soft red wheat varieties and five commercial checks tested in 30 locations across six states. Seven varieties were advanced to commercial testing (2024).
Preliminary Yield Trials of 353 soft red and white wheat experimental genotypes and commercial checks were conducted at four Michigan locations. A set of 27 red and six white lines were advanced to a second year of testing at 30 locations in Michigan and elsewhere.
Olson also runs an early generation nursery, which had 500 new hybrids, of which 250 new lines will undergo replicated yield testing. Another 2,280 single plants were harvested and planted in 2023 for observation in the 2024 harvest.
And at the beginning of the pipeline, Olson made 445 unique crosses in 2022 and 2023. These were planted in the early generation nursery plots for further evaluation.
2022 Work. In 2022, there were 14 soft white winter and 13 soft red wheat lines tested in the Michigan commercial yield trial. In total that trial had 123 varieties and experimental lines. Read the full 2022 Michigan State Wheat Performance Trials Report by clicking here. https://miwheat.org/wp-content/uploads/2022-Final-Report.pdf From this trial two soft white wheat lines were advanced to a second year of commercial testing (2023).
Advanced Yield Trials including 37 soft red wheat varieties and five commercial checks tested in 16 locations across six states. Eight varieties were advanced to commercial testing (2022).
Preliminary Yield Trials of 328 soft red and white wheat experimental genotypes and commercial checks were conducted at four Michigan locations. A set of 34 red and four white lines were advanced to a second year of testing at 30 locations in Michigan and elsewhere.
The early generation nursery produced 250 new lines for replicated yield testing (2022). Another 500 single plants were harvested and planted in 2022 for observation and seed increase.
And at the beginning of the pipeline, Olson made 458 unique crosses in 2021 and 2022. These were planted in the early generation nursery plots for further evaluation.
Click below to review Olson’s 2022 and 2023 final reports.
2020-2021 Variety Development Work on Soft Red and White Wheat
Since 2013, Dr. Eric Olson has been the MSU wheat breeder in a position that is mutually funded by the University and the Michigan Wheat Program. He has looked at and/or developed thousands of soft winter wheat crosses seeking improved yield, quality and disease resistance for Michigan wheat growers; as well as qualities better suited to the Michigan flour milling industry.
This report covers Olson’s results from 2020-2021 trials of nine soft white winter and five soft red wheat lines from a commercial trial. These were the most promising of 115 varieties included in that year’s MSU Wheat Variety Trials.
Olson also conducted advanced yield trials (also called high-management trials) with soft red and soft white winter wheat. With specific additional fungicide and nitrogen applications, these trials provide a more accurate assessment of yield potential. In 2020 107 experimental soft red varieties were tested against controls, and 54 soft white varieties were evaluated against controls.
Click below to review Olson’s 2020-2021 final report.
§ 2020-2021 Variety Development Work final report
By Dr. Bruno Basso
This Basso project was funded to provide aerial imagery and data from an agricultural drone on 36 research plots of new wheat varieties developed by MSU wheat breeder Dr. Eric Olson. The drone imagery was taken multiple times throughout the growing season.
The procedure provides a snapshot of plant reflectance of a whole field with a quick turn-around. Reflectance from a variety of vegetation indices can be exported from individual plots, allowing important notes associated with their growth and development over the growing season.
In this trial, 15 flights were made from November through late June over the Mason Research Farm. A key final objective of this study was to develop and apply a predictive model linked to the drone imagery to better understand wheat growth and development.
Click below to review the 2018 PowerPoint slides and 2018 final report.
The Michigan Wheat Program is a state-check off program voted in by the state’s wheat farmers to assess each bushel of wheat grown and sold. The funds from the program are utilized to further the wheat industry in the state benefitting the state’s nearly 8,000 wheat farmers who grow about 450,000 acres of wheat annually producing about a 40 million bushel crop.