Overview

Alpowa, a soft white spring wheat, was developed at Washington State University, and cooperatively with the Oregon and Idaho Agricultural Experiment Stations, and the United States Department of Agriculture. The prupose of the release is to provide growers a soft white spring wheat with higher yielding capacity, high test weight and improved soft white wheat milling and baking properties compared to Penawawa. Alpowa's best feature is its high test weight. Alpowa was developed by a modified bulk-pedigree selection scheme, from the cross Fielder/Potam 70//Walladay/3/Walladay/Potam 70, at Washington State University. It has been evaluated for 4 years in Washington State trials, and for three years in Washington regional and Tri-state regional trials under low rainfall-fallow, annual crop, and irrigated production conditions in the Tri-State Region. Alpowa is a single gene semidwarf, with common, white chaffed, awned spikes, producing soft, white grain of high volume weight for soft wheats. It is of medium maturity, heading 1-3 days later than 'Penawawa' but maturing one of more days earlier, thus, Alpowa appears to have a more rapid grain fill rate than most other spring wheats. In a recent test under limited moisture, rain-fed conditions, its grain yield test weights exceeded those of 'Penawawa', suggesting it may also be more drought tolerant. Collaborative tests by the Western Wheat Quality Laboratory, and USDA/ARS, have shown Alpowa to have milling and baking quality properties superior to those of 'Penawawa'. Alpowa is primariy a pastry wheat; however, its grain can be used in all types of soft wheat products. Alpowa has moderate adult plant resistances to strip rust, and leaf and stem rusts. It is susceptible to the Hessian fly and the Russian wheat aphid. Seed classes will be breeder, foundation, registered and certified. These classes of seed will be maintained by the Washington State Crop Improvement Associating.

Data Sheets