Fall
2015
grainswest.com
47
OUT OF THE OVEN:
W530 has many beneficial traits that make it ideal for steamed buns.
developing varieties of Hard White
Winter Wheat with end-use properties
similar to that of Hard Red Winter Wheat.
That work progressed, but without a
home for the end product, it was never a
primary focus.
Over a decade later, in 2011, the
Alberta Winter Wheat Producers
Commission met with Cigi to discuss
how to access higher-valued markets.
“One of the things talked about was
the Asian steamed-bun market,” Graf
said, when again the point of the white
appearance of the steamed bread was
mentioned. “As we were talking about
this, W530 came to mind,” he said.
That association meeting with Cigi
prompted Graf and his team to move
W530 research to the forefront. “We
needed to take this line off the shelf
and multiply enough grain to facilitate
the work with Cigi, to see if it had the
properties for Asian steamed buns.
Funding of the quality work by the
Alberta Wheat Commission was critical
for this to happen,” he said.
W530 received interim registration
at the 2015 meeting of the Prairie
Recommending Committee for Wheat,
Rye and Triticale, opening the door
for seed-multiplication and market-
development work.
Meanwhile, FP Genetics is working to
get the wheat into farmers’ fields. Rod
Merryweather, CEO of FP Genetics,
and seed portfolio manager Ron Weik
said the company will work on logistics
management and selling to end users:
seed multiplication, identity-preserved
production and even the creation of a
new wheat class.
They share the excitement over the
new variety. “We see this as a new
opportunity for a premiummarket for
Canadian farmers,” Merryweather said.
“Maybe it will be a good, new product
that will fulfil a lot of needs.”
The fact that the variety is the first-ever
Hard White Winter Wheat for Western
Canada is even more exciting, Weik said.
“It’s once in a lifetime that you get an
opportunity like this.”
Merryweather said that, as far as
wheat growers are concerned, it will be
four years before the variety is ready for
commercial planting—once testing is
finished and four generations of seed
have been produced. FP Genetics’
current plan is to plant approximately
50,000 acres a year across Western
Canada.
In terms of production, Graf said farmers
will findW530 very similar to other winter
wheat varieties, yielding slightly more than
well-known varieties AC Radiant and CDC
Buteo. W530 has winter hardiness similar
to AC Flourish and CDC Falcon. It has a
short, strong straw and good resistance to
stem, leaf and stripe rust. It is moderately
susceptible to Fusarium head blight, with
a lower occurrence of deoxynivalenol
and Fusarium-damaged kernels than the
CanadaWestern Red Spring checks,
and is susceptible to common bunt. Graf
stated that W530—whose end name is
still in the registration process—is suited
to any region inWestern Canada, as
long as good agronomic practices are
maintained. As with any winter wheat,
planting into standing stubble within the
recommended dates for crop insurance
is advised.
For milling properties, W530 is
exceptional, Cigi stated, with high milling
yields of bright-white flour with low ash
content and excellent gluten strength
relative to protein content. In addition
to its promise in the Asian steamed-
bread markets, W530 performs well in
whole-grain pan breads and white salted
noodles applications.
The mechanics of the
commercialization process are
progressing while Graf continues to
work on other breeding projects. Recent
work includes the development of W512,
which is well-suited for production in
Alberta and western Saskatchewan.
“We’ve got other lines in the pipeline
that we hope to get registered and
into production in the near future,”
he said. Still, seeing a unique variety
such as W530 through to this
stage—and knowing that profitable
commercialization is just within reach—is
more than just another day at the office.
“It’s absolutely cool. This is what I do. I
enjoy wheat breeding, and I feel it is what
I was meant to do. To get something
brand new to this stage, where it could
impact farmer profitability in Western
Canada, is very exciting.”
