For the fifth year in a row, Byrd tops the list of known wheat varieties planted for the 2019 crop in Colorado.
According to the Colorado Winter Wheat Variety Survey released by the USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service, Byrd was planted on 14.9 percent of the winter wheat acres, followed by Avery at 13 percent, Langin at 9 percent, Brawl CL Plus at 6.4 percent, Snowmass at 4.8 percent, and Hatcher at 3.8 percent. Colorado wheat producers also reported that 45 percent of their seed planted was certified seed.
Byrd, a hard red winter wheat, was developed by the Colorado State University (CSU) Wheat Breeding and Genetics Program and released by Colorado Wheat Research Foundation (CWRF) in 2011 under their PlainsGold brand. Byrd has shown excellent drought tolerance and yield responsiveness over the years, along with very good milling and baking quality. The variety was named after Dr. Byrd Curtis, former CSU Wheat Breeder who initiated the program in 1963 and currently resides in Ft. Collins.
Avery held steady with the previous year, while Langin jumped from 1.2 percent to 9 percent in the survey in its first year of certified seed availability. Langin holds the top ranking for yield in the three-year average for Dryland Variety Performance plots conducted by CSU’s Crops Testing program.
Last fall, PlainsGold released six new winter wheat varieties to meet demand and fill niches across Colorado and the High Plains: Canvas, Whistler, Snowmass 2.0, Monarch, Crescent AX, and Byrd CL Plus.
To read the full report, visit: https://www.nass.usda.gov/Statistics_by_State/Colorado/Publications/Special_Interest_Reports/CO-Winter-Wheat_Varieties-03212019.pdf