Am I Safe to Seed Any Spring Wheat Variety I Want?

Contributed by Dale Whaley and Clark Neelyf your winter wheat crop took a hit from “snow mold” as these lines did or simply had poor emergence, and you are looking to plant spring wheat, there are two things to consider. (Also see “Parts of Eastern Washington May Be Looking to Reseed Wheat Come Spring” for more information about snow mold.)

First, you are most likely not alone in this predicament, as snow mold has impacted many operations along and north of the HWY 2 corridor. Therefore, spring wheat seed may be in short supply.

Secondly, and most important, be aware of the winter wheat variety that you planted and your herbicide history. If you planted any of the Clearfield+ or Beyond tolerant varieties i.e., Curiosity CL+, Mela CL+, Sockeye CL+ or Piranha CL+ (see the WSU Small Grains Variety Selection Tool for a complete listing) AND applied Beyond (imazamox) herbicide, it is important to remember that this product can have as little as a 3- and up to an 18-month plant-back interval for non-Clearfield varieties based on region, pH, and rainfall requirements. Therefore, to avoid any possible herbicide damage, it is recommended to either perform a soil bioassay to see if any imazamox residual is present or plant a Clearfield+ (Beyond tolerant) spring wheat variety such as AP Mondovi CL2, WB6211CLP, or Hedge CL+ (Club), which are soft white spring (SWS) varieties.

Net CL+ is currently the only 2-gene Clearfield hard red spring wheat tested in the variety testing program. If while looking at the WSU Extension Cereal Variety Trial Results you come across Butch CL+ (WA8354 CL+), keep in mind seed will not be widely available for at least another year and possibly more as it was only recently released in spring 2023.

Based on yield history across the lowest rainfall zone trials, Hedge CL+ has about a two-bushel advantage over AP Mondovi CL2 on the five-year average with 2.0 pound per bushel better test weight and one percentage unit lower grain protein. WB6211CLP has only been tested for two years where it was statistically no different from AP Mondovi CL2 and Hedge CL+ for yield. Compared to AP Mondovi CL2, WB6211CLP had 0.5 pound per bushel lower test weight and one percentage unit lower grain protein. Compared to other common SWS wheats, the SWS Clearfield varieties generally have a three- to five-bushel yield drag.

Net CL+ is well suited for low rainfall regions–commonly topping the hard red spring wheat trial for yield overall.