Extension Report

Baldwin County Office

302A Byrne Street

Bay Minette, AL  36507

Telephone (251) 937-7176 or

928-0860/943-5611 ext. 2222

FAX (251) 937-7285

Richard Petcher

Regional Extension Agent/Agronomic Crops

September 8, 2009

Wheat Recommended Varieties for South Alabama for 2009.  This information was reviewed by Dr. Jerry Johnson, wheat breeder and variety trial coordinator with the University of Georgia, and Dr. Steve Harrison, wheat and oat breeder and variety trial coordinator with the LSU AgCenter. 

Seventy percent of a grower’s success in grain production is based on variety selection.  

Recommended Wheat Varieties for 2009

This recommended list is compiled from our On Farm Variety Testing program in Southwest Alabama, as well as University Research in Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, Louisiana and Florida.  Much of this information has also been compiled from Farmer’s fields and variety performance across this area.    Hopefully, this list will help you in your variety decisions and allow growers here to order their seed with confidence.  It would be best for growers to order their seed as soon as possible. 

The Top Performing Varieties for this area are:

AGS 2060 This variety has topped some of the University Variety Trials for the past several years.  This early maturing line was developed at the LSU AgCenter by Dr. Steve Harrison. It is early maturing with good resistance to stripe and leaf rust and Hessian fly.  It has tolerance to powdery mildew and glume blotch.  It is a good yielding variety with excellent test weight but will lodge under high N fertilization.  This variety should be our home run variety this season.  It may not be resistant to Hessian fly biotype L., however it has held up very well against Hessian fly in the field in our area.

Terral LA 482 Very early variety developed by Dr. Steve Harrison at LSU, and is handled by Terral Seed Company.  It is susceptible to some races of leaf rust and intermediate for reaction to Hessian fly.  It should not be planted early to avoid the risk of spring freeze damage.

AGS 2000  This variety was developed by Dr. Jerry Johnson and released from the University of Georgia in 2000. It is sold by AgSouth Genetics.  It has medium maturity and has good leaf rust and powdery mildew resistance.   AGS 2000 has moderate resistance, but is not resistant to biotype L. Hessian fly.

AGS 2026  This medium maturity variety was developed by Jerry Johnson with the University of Georgia.  It is about four days later in maturity than AGS 2000.  It has good yield, is resistant to leaf and stripe rust, and has biotype L Hessian fly resistance.

AGS 2020 was developed by Dr. Jerry Johnson in Georgia.  It is about 4 days earlier in maturity than AGS 2000.  It is also similar in lodging.  It has good yield and excellent test weight.  It is resistant to most strains of Hessian fly except biotype L.

AGS 2010 This early maturing variety developed by Dr. Jerry Johnson with the University of Georgia is sold by AgSouth Genetics.  It has excellent disease resistance and is resistant to biotype L of Hessian fly. 

AGS 2031 This is a mid maturing variety developed by Dr. Jerry Johnson, UGA and is sold by AGSouth Genetics.  It is a mid maturing variety with excellent disease resistance and susceptible Hessian fly. 

Pioneer 26R61 is a good older variety from Pioneer.  It has good yield potential and excellent test weight.   This medium maturity variety has good leaf rust, intermediate powdery mildew reaction, and good soil borne virus resistance.  It is resistant to most Hessian fly populations, including biotype L.

Terral LA 841 This variety was developed by Dr. Steve Harrison at LSU and is marketed by Terral Seed Company.  It is an early variety with high disease resistance, but is moderately susceptible to Hessian fly.  This variety did well in South Alabama this past year, except in fields with heavy Hessian fly pressure.   This is still a very popular variety planted in Louisiana and South and Central Mississippi. 

A few new varieties that University Specialists highly suggest our growers try in South Alabama:

Ogelthorpe This variety was developed by Dr. Jerry Johnson with UGA in Georgia.  It is marketed  Dyna Gro with Crop Production Service.  It is a mid maturing variety with excellent yield potential and is resistant to Hessian fly and biotype L.  It should be an excellent variety for South Alabama when planting early.

Baldwin This variety was developed by Dr. Jerry Johnson with UGA in Georgia.  .  It is marketed by Dyna Gro with Crop Production Service.  It is a late maturing variety so will only work in South Alabama if planted very early.  It is probably not a good variety for Baldwin County where we typically do not get much vernalization.  It has excellent yield potential and is resistant to Hessian fly but not biotype L.  Again this variety should be planted early.  Seed will be very limited for 2009-10.

AGS 2035 This variety is to replace AGS 2000.  It very similar to AGS 2000, but has a better yield and better disease package.  This variety was developed by Dr. Jerry Johnson with UGA in Georgia.  .  It is now handled by Ag South Genetics.  It is a mid maturing variety with excellent yield potential and is resistant to Hessian fly but not biotype L.  It should be an excellent variety for South Alabama.  In the UGA variety testing program this variety topped the three year average for South Georgia.

Terral LA 821 This new variety was developed by Dr. Steve Harrison at LSU.  It is very similar to LA 841 in maturity and growth.  However 821 has an improved disease package and higher test weight.  It has moderate resistance to Hessian fly. 

Garden Treasures” Educational Seminar Day

The Baldwin County Master Gardeners will be hosting an educational seminar day on October 15th at the Fairhope campus of Faulkner Community College. The theme of the seminar day is “Garden Treasures” and workshops will be offered from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m. in the following subject areas:   birds, roses, and water gardens.  The cost for this seminar is $10 and you can pay at the door.

Weeks Bay Plant Sale

The sixteenth annual Weeks Bay Native Plant Sale will be held Friday – Sunday, October 9th – 11th at Safe Harbor across U.S. 98 Highway from the Weeks Bay Reserve. Many native shrubs, perennials, butterfly plants, trees, hummingbird plants, wetland plants, and dune plants will be available for purchase. The Baldwin County Master Gardeners will be on hand to assist and provide information that will help you choose the native plants that are best for your landscape.

Email address: rpetcher@aces.edu

Phone number: 937-7176 or 943-5611, 928-0860, ext. 2222

The Alabama Cooperative Extension System (Alabama A&M and Auburn Universities) in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Agriculture is an equal opportunity educator and employer.