Oahe is a new South Dakota winter wheat with high yield potential and an “excellent” disease package, according to Sunish Sehgal, South Dakota Agricultural Experiment Station winter wheat breeder.

From 2013 to 2015, Oahe ranked No. 1 in mean grain yield among hard red winter wheat trials in the North Regional Performance Nurseries, which has test plots throughout the Great Plains states and Canadian provinces.

Oahe yields were 1 to 2 bushels more per acre than the average performance of other SDSU varieties, Sehgal says.

It has good resistance to stripe rust, leaf rust and wheat streak mosaic virus, along with resistance to fusarium head blight that is comparable to other popular varieties.

OAHE WHEAT: The new South Dakota winter wheat Oahe looked good in a field near Onida. (Photo: SDSU)

Oahe has excellent winter-hardiness. It has a longer coleoptile — the sheath that protects the seed — than other varieties, which results in less winterkill, along with better drought tolerance.

During four years of testing in crop performance trials at 14 South Dakota locations, Oahe showed above-average test weights, at 58 pounds per bushel East River and 58.6 pounds per bushel West River. The grain protein concentration was average, ranging from 13.4 to 12.9, and similar to other popular varieties. It has excellent milling quality, with fair baking quality.

In 2017, producers should be able to purchase it through the dealers listed in the South Dakota Certified Seed Grower Directory.

“The release of Oahe represents a tremendous return on investment for our wheat producers,” noted Reid Christopherson, executive director of the South Dakota Wheat Commission, which helps fund the breeding program.

Source: SDSU