Limagrain Cereal Seeds head breeder, Marla Barnett, and regional sales manager, Drew Hendricker, led producers attending the LCS field day in May on a tour of the company's research plots. They offered some information about the varieties already released and those that are coming up in the near future.

Several of these lines are also in Kansas State University demonstration plots this year, and this year's data on yield and disease will be available from K-State by planting season next fall.

BREEDER SPEAKS: LCS wheat breeder Marla Barnett talks about Limagrain varieties during a plot tour at the annual field day in May.

LCS Pistol
This variety has been shown over the last two seasons as an excellent choice for farmers in need of a dual-purpose winter grazing wheat, Barnett said. It is a medium-maturing variety with good straw strength and a late first hollow stem, which offers a few more days of spring grazing. It is suited for Kansas, Oklahoma and the Texas Panhandle. LCS Pistol has good acid soil tolerance and was in the top three varieties in 2016 Oklahoma State University fall forage production trials. It was the market leader in 2016 K-State yield trials, beating the competition by 3 bushels to the acre.

LCS Wizard
This is a variety well-suited to south-central Kanas and into central Oklahoma. It has good straw strength and does well under high management and irrigation. It is Hessian fly resistant and late in reaching first hollow stem, which makes it a good grazing choice.

LCS Mint
This variety is photoperiod sensitive, meaning its flowering date is controlled by the length of the day.

"This means it is not fooled by warm days in February into maturing too rapidly," Barnett said. "That can be a benefit in years like this year and last year with warm late-winter and a spring freeze." LCS Mint also has a beautiful dark green color, but Barnett said you do have to use a fungicide. It is susceptible to rust.

LCS Chrome
"This is a flagship line and one that I was really excited about," Barnett said.

LCS Chrome has a medium-late maturity and like LCS Mint, it is photoperiod-sensitive, It has leaf and stripe rust resistance, as well as Hessian fly resistance. It is high-tillering with high yields and test weights.

LCS Link
This late-maturing variety was developed in partnership with the University of Nebraska at Lincoln. It is a high-yielding variety that made 136 bushels to the acre under irrigation in Nebraska and 168 bushels in irrigated trials in Garden City. It is a late-maturing variety with leaf and stem rust resistance.

T154
This variety is early-maturing and very high yielding with excellent acid soil tolerance. It is adapted to most of the Plains states and has good test weights.

It has good resistance to leaf, stripe and stem rust and has become a key component in blends. It is best suited for central and eastern Kansas down through Oklahoma.

LCH13-0001
This variety is an advanced experimental line. It is a cross between T152 and T154 and is adapted to western Kansas. Barnett said it is also a good wheat for growing under irrigation, and in trials it has shown a yield advantage of 3 bushels to the acre over T158.

LCH13-0032
This T152xT154 cross is adapted for western Kansas and offers promise for high management under irrigation. It has yielded 5 bushels above T158.

LCH13-048
This T154/T158 cross is on increase in preparation for release into foundation seed. It is an early-maturing variety that has shown a 5-bushel yield advantage over T-154. It is recommended for central Kansas.

LCH13-0092
This advanced experimental is what Barnett terms a "highway wheat," meaning it looks good when you drive by at 60 mph but doesn't look so good when you walk out into the field. It is a cross between T158 and an experimental line. It is susceptible to leaf rust and has yields comparable to LCS Pistol.

LCH14-0089 and LCH14-0091
These are sister varieties with T158 parentage. Barnett said 0089 is on increase and was entered this year in K-State variety trials. She said it has "broad shoulders" and should be able to carry the load, much like T158.

Its sister is a bit less reliable, Barnett said. "When it hits, it hits big," she said. "But it also misses some of the time.”

TALKING VARIETIES: LCS Regional Sales Manager Drew Hendricker (left) and wheat breeder Marla Barnett give a rundown on varieties being grown at the Valley Center research station. And, yes, muck boots were a necessity during the May 19 field day, which included a downpour that soaked participants on the way back to the offices after the plot tour.

LCH14-0055
This variety is also on increase to prepare for a release of foundation seed. It is a T153-T158 cross that shows good straw strength as well as stripe and leaf rust resistance. It has shown a yield advantage of 5 bushels over LCS Chrome.

LCH14-0052
This variety is well adapted for dryland fields in western Kansas. It has a 6-bushel yield advantage over LCS Chrome.

LCH14-0051
This variety is another T153-T158 cross. It is adapted to central Kansas and northern Oklahoma and shows good acid soil tolerance. It has a 7-bushel advantage over T158 in central Kansas.

LCH14-0034
This early-maturing variety has good stripe resistance. It is a cross between T158 and an Oklahoma experimental.

LCH13-1227
This variety, adapted for central Kansas, is in its second year of trials. It has a good rust resistance package and has shown a 5-bushel yield advantage over Everest.

Plot tour also spotlights developing lines of hard white winter wheat

Producers attending the Limagrain Cereal Seeds field day at Valley Center were also able to hear a few details about five hard white winter wheat lines that are being developed by Trio Station breeder Marla Barnett.

LCI13-0069
This hard white variety has T158 in its parentage. Its promising characteristics include very good milling and baking quality tests.

LCI13-0416
This advanced experimental variety has the distinction of being the highest-yielding variety on the research farm last year at 84 bushels. It also has very promising stats on milling and baking quality.

LCI14-1483
This hard white winter wheat variety shows excellent leaf rust resistance and is a very late-maturing line.

LCI14-1453
This advanced experimental shows good rust and scab resistance.

LCI14-2222
This final hard white winter wheat line in the plots is an early-maturing variety with tolerance for stem and stripe rust. It is also been grown in research plots in southern Idaho.

Growers interested in more detailed information about Limagrain varieties can pick up a seed guide and talk to a seed dealer. You can find the dealer closest to your farm at limagraincerealseeds.com/find-a-dealer.