Researchers at Washington State University have developed a new variety of soft-white wheatprevious varieties traditionally have been exported for noodle productionthat they believe will appeal to U.S. makers of cookies and crackers.


Called Louise, the new variety of soft-white spring wheat is a derivative of a similar new variety called Zak, which was released about three years ago by WSU, but quickly was found to be highly susceptible to a new strain of stripe rust. The Louise variety, which is expected to go into commercial production next spring, is said to be resistant to that fungal pathogen, which is wreaking havoc on the regions wheat crops, says Kim Kidwell, geneticist and spring-wheat breeder at WSUs College of Agriculture.


Louise is expected to be attractive to big cookie and cracker makers, such as Nabisco, which require a low-protein wheat that doesnt rise like bread wheat varieties do, Kidwell says. She says neither Zak nor Louise require excess amounts of water to make suitable doughs, which reduces the time, energy, and costs incurred on the production line, and while soft-white wheat varieties typically used to make noodles are partly waxy, Louise is not.


Currently, 90 percent of Washingtons soft-white wheat is exported to Asia and the Middle East, but the introduction of Louise could reduce that percentage some, says Jim Cook, dean of WSUs College of Agriculture. He says that although most winter soft white will continue to be exported, the new Louise spring wheat could go to domestic buyers, cutting shipping costs for growers and keeping some milling and production dollars in the U.S.


My prediction is that Louise will gradually become the dominant soft spring wheat and probably the dominant spring wheat variety in Washington, says Cook.


Tom Mick, CEO of the Washington state Wheat Commission says, Louise could easily become No. 1 (among Washingtons spring wheat varieties) in a short period of time.


Spring wheat is planted in the spring and harvested in the late summer, as opposed to the states predominant wheat crop, winter wheat, which is planted in the fall, lies primarily dormant through the winter, and is harvested the following summer. The two types of wheat differ slightly in the characteristics they possess, and spring wheat offers the added advantage of allowing weed-control efforts twice annually as opposed to once annually for winter wheat, says Cook.


The Wheat Commission funds the entire WSU wheat-breeding program, says Kidwell, who has been a researcher at WSU since 1994 and was instrumental in developing both the Zak and Louise varieties.


She says that Nabisco had never used Washington spring wheat for products such as Oreos and Chips Ahoy! cookies or Ritz crackers until it became enamored with the milling characteristics of Zak. Prior to Zak, Nabisco had gone primarily to Southern Idaho growers to supply it with wheat for cookies and crackers, Kidwell says. Both she and Cook say Nabisco likes the milling characteristics of Louise even better than Zak.


Calls to Nabiscos Portland, Ore., office to inquire about the companys quality comparisons between Louise and Southern Idaho wheat werent returned.


The Wheat Commissions Mick says that even before the advent of Zak and Louise, makers of cookies, crackers, and confectionary products already were beginning to show greater interest in Washington soft-white spring wheats because researchers earlier had improved those varieties to make them more attractive for such uses.


Improvements in Washingtons soft-white wheats had been made a notch at a time, but Zak was definitely a big jump in quality, Cook says.


Zak, however, had its own problems. The stripe rust problem in spring wheat this year, which Kidwell calls an epidemic, doesnt ruin the crop, but adds significant costs for any farmer who chooses to combat the disease with a chemical treatment.


The cost of buying and applying that treatment to combat the fungus can range as high as $17 an acre, which is in addition to the $12 to $15 per acre in herbicide costs farmers typically budget to combat broadleaf weeds, says Hank Hankins, technical sales representative for Wilbur-Ellis Co., in Spokane Valley.


Kidwell asserts that its better to solve a crop disease problem geneticallyby developing new wheat varieties such as Louisethan by introducing more chemicals into the environment.


Independent growers


Mick says he cant predict how many Washington wheat growers will turn to Louise next year when it becomes available, saying that growers often attend field trials around the state and normally keep abreast of new varieties that have the characteristics theyre looking for.


They are always looking for an agronomic package with quality, he says.


Says Kidwell, Our role is to give the wheat growers a lot of data and information so they can make good choices. The fact that wheat growers are usually set in their ways is a quality Ive learned to admire.


Cook says Louise is quick to get out of the ground when planted and creates a dense canopy that forces out weeds, but cautions wheat growers against turning toward one variety too heavily. He encourages a diversity of planted wheat varieties as a hedge against new diseases, noting that the research facility at WSU customarily stresses quality first, then yield, then disease resistance.


Kidwell admits she was humbled by the experience growers had with Zak, saying she was blindsided by the varietys inability to adjust to a new strain of stripe rust.


With Louise, we are being cautiously optimistic instead of being overly zealous, she says. You cant predict nature, so this time we hope to err on the side of caution. We dont ever want to be in a situation where we are blindsided again. After Zak we decided to retool, learn, and expand our efforts.


WSU long has been involved in the introduction of new wheat varieties, having recently celebrated its 100-year anniversary for developing its first new winter wheat seed. Kidwell promotes an ongoing philosophy that the last success is the next target. We always want to produce a superior variety of wheat.


The process of developing new varieties often is long and arduous.


The average time between when a new study is launched and seed for a new variety of wheat seed is grown to be sold to farmers ranges from eight to 12 years, Kidwell says. She says Louise has long been in the works and has undergone tests since 2002 to confirm its genetic qualities.


Once a new variety like Louise is determined to meet quality, nutritional, and pathological standards established by a WSU committee of science and industry specialists, the researchers share up to 100 pounds of that variety of seed in its purest form with the Washington state Crop Improvement Association.


That association, a nonprofit public-private arm of the Washington state Department of Agriculture located on WSUs Pullman campus,oversees a highly regulated process in which farmers are contracted to grow three generations of the plant beyond its purebred form, taking it from foundation, to registered, and finally to certified seed status. Once its certified, the seed can be sold to vendors who market the seed to growers.


Louise is being raised by contracted seed growers this year, and will be available in its certified commercial form in time to be planted next spring.