Fort Collins, Colo. – Amplify SF was the most popular winter wheat variety planted in Colorado, according to the 2024 Colorado Winter Wheat Variety Survey released by the National Agricultural Statistics service on March 1. This marks the first year the variety has taken the top spot in the survey, planted on 13.6 percent of the acreage for the 2024 crop.
Amplify SF, a semi-solid hard red winter wheat, was developed by the Colorado State University Wheat Breeding and Genetics Program and released by the Colorado Wheat Research Foundation in 2021 under their PlainsGold® brand. Amplify SF carries a stem-solidness trait that helps defend against the wheat stem sawfly, an insect that is estimated to cause $30 million in damages annually in Colorado.
“Given its effective balance with solidness, relative maturity, and yield performance under sawfly pressure, Amplify SF has proven to be the variety of choice for Eastern Colorado and neighboring regions affected by the wheat stem sawfly,” said Tyler Benninghoven, Colorado Wheat/PlainsGold Seed and Trait Specialist.
Other PlainsGold varieties filled in the top seven spots of the survey, with Langin moving to second place after its four year run in the top spot, planted on 11.6 percent of the acres. Byrd took third place at 9.1 percent, followed by Avery at 6 percent, Byrd CL Plus at 5.1 percent, and finally Kivari AX at 4.4 percent.
The PlainsGold brand, introduced in 2012, carries some the most well-known and innovative winter wheat varieties available today in the High Plains. The PlainsGold brand, varieties and AXigen® trait are owned by the farmer-governed Colorado Wheat Research Foundation. Royalties from the sale of PlainsGold seed support the public wheat breeding program at Colorado State University, which further enhances the funding provided by the wheat assessment paid by all Colorado wheat farmers.