Introduction

CDC Reign, a hard red spring wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) cultivar, was developed at the Crop Development Centre (CDC), University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada. It received registration No. 8893 from the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) on 9 July 2019, and a Plant Breeders’ Rights protection was filed with the CFIA (No. 19-9970).

Breeding methods, pedigree, and field testing

CDC Reign is derived from the cross ACS51638/Alsen made at the CDC, University of Saskatchewan, in the summer of 2008. ACS51638 is a German breeding line obtained as part of germplasm exchange program and Alsen (Frohberg et al. 2006) is a hard red spring wheat cultivar released in 2000 by the North Dakota State University for its resistance to Fusarium head blight (FHB) (caused by Fusarium graminearum Schwabe (teleomorph Gibberella zeae (Schwein.) Petch)) combined with high grain yield and excellent end‐use quality. The F₁ generation was increased at a contra season nursery near Christchurch, New Zealand. The F₂ and F₃ generations were increased in bulk in 2009 in Saskatoon, SK, and near Christchurch. In 2010, the F₄ generation was grown in a space-planted nursery in Saskatoon, and desirable plants expressing suitable plant height, time to maturity, and plant stature were selected and planted as F_4:5 head rows in a leaf and stem rust nursery in 2011. Rows with suitable plant height, time to maturity, and leaf and stem rust resistance were identified, and from them three random individuals were selected. The resulting F_5:6 lines were again evaluated as head rows in 2012 in leaf and stem rust nurseries, and for FHB resistance at Carman, MB. HY08.34.182 was selected and in 2013 was evaluated in unreplicated early generation yield tests at the Kernen Crop Research Farm near Saskatoon. In the same year, HY08.34.182 was evaluated in artificially inoculated common bunt, leaf and stem rust nurseries in Saskatoon, and FHB nursery at Carman. Quality analysis (grain protein concentration (%), SDS sedimentation (cc), falling number (s)) was performed on harvested samples from the Kernen Crop Research Farm, and HY09.24.182 was selected. In 2014, HY08.34.182 was evaluated with check cultivars for agronomic traits in replicated yield trials at the Kernen, and Goodale Crop Research Farms, Wakaw, SK, and Edmonton, AB. Disease testing in artificially inoculated nurseries included FHB (Carman), leaf and stem rust resistance (Saskatoon), common bunt resistance (Saskatoon), and stripe rust (Saskatoon). Quality testing was performed on equal composite samples. Based on these trials, HY08.34.182 was advanced in 2015 to the High Yield Wheat B-Test and was evaluated in the High Yield Wheat Cooperative Registration Test from 2016 to 2018 and associated disease nurseries as HY2062.

The variables measured and the operating protocols followed in the High Yield Wheat Cooperative Registration Test were those approved each year by the Prairie Recommending Committee for Wheat, Rye, and Triticale;  http://pgdc.ca/committees_wrt_pd.html). In agronomic performance trials, the check cultivars over all three years of trialling were Glenn (Mergoum et al. 2006), AAC Foray (Brown et al. 2015), and CDC Terrain. In Cooperative trials, the stem rust races were TPMKC, TMRTF, RHTSC, QTHJF, RTHJF, RKQSC, and MCCFC (Roelf and Martens 1988; Fetch et al. 2021). The leaf rust inoculum consisted of a mixture of prevalent races isolated from the western Canadian prairies as determined from yearly survey studies (McCallum et al. 2021). Resistance to races L1, L16, T1, T6, T13, and T19 of common bunt Tilletia laevis Kühn in Rabenh. and Tilletia tritici (Bjerk.) G. Wint. in Rabenh. (Hoffman and Metzger 1976) were evaluated in the High Yield Wheat Cooperative Registration Test. End-use quality was assessed at the Grain Research Laboratory, Canadian Grain Commission, using methods approved by the American Association of Cereal Chemists (American Association of Cereal Chemists 2000) each year on composite grain samples as per approved protocols ( http://pgdc.ca/committees_wrt_pd.html).

Data presented here were analysed using the PROC MIXED procedure in SAS version 9.4 (Littell et al. 2006), with replications, sub-blocks, zones, locations, and years considered as random effects and entries considered as fixed. The diff command was used to estimate the standard error of the difference between entries, which in turn was used to estimate an F-protected least significant difference at a significance level of 5% (LSD_0.05). For end-use quality data, years were considered as replications.

Performance

Agronomy

On average CDC Reign yielded 18% more than Glenn, 1% more than AAC Foray, and 2% more than CDC Terrain in three years of testing in the High Yield Wheat Cooperative Registration Test (Table 1). CDC Reign was shorter than all the check cultivars and expressed stronger straw than AAC Foray and CDC Terrain (Table 2). Test weight was at least 2 kg hL⁻¹ higher than AAC Foray and CDC Terrain, but lower than Glenn (Table 2). Kernel weight was within the range of the checks (Table 2). The protein concentration of CDC Reign was 0.8% higher than AAC Foray, 0.6% higher than CDC Terrain, and 0.8% less than Glenn (Table 2).

Table 1.

Grain yield (kg ha⁻¹) of CDC Reign and check cultivars in the High Yield Wheat Cooperative Registration Test (2016–2018).

Table 2.

Agronomic performance of CDC Reign and check cultivars in the High Yield Wheat Cooperative Registration Test (2016–2018).

Disease

CDC Reign is resistant to leaf rust and moderately resistant to stem rust (Table 3). Stripe rust reaction was variable and ranged from intermediate (I) to resistant (R) (Table 3). The FHB reaction of CDC Reign ranged from moderately susceptible (MS) to moderately resistant (MR), with the majority of ratings being an “I” (Table 4). The deoxynivalenol (DON) concentration (mg kg⁻¹) across nine FHB nurseries was lower for CDC Reign than for AAC Foray and CDC Terrain (Table 4). CDC Reign is susceptible to common bunt (Table 3).

Table 3.

Reaction to leaf, stem, and stripe rusts, and common bunt of CDC Reign and check cultivars in the High Yield Wheat Cooperative Registration Test (2016–2018).

Table 4.

Reaction of CDC Reign and check cultivars to Fusarium head blight in the High Yield Wheat Cooperative Registration Test (2016–2018).

End-use quality

CDC Reign expressed higher grain protein concentration in composite samples over 3 years of testing than AAC Foray and CDC Terrain (Table 5). Falling number of CDC Reign was within the range of the check cultivars (Table 5). Flour yield (0.5% ash basis) was like Glenn, and the ash content of CDC Reign was lower than CDC Terrain (Table 5). Farinograph dough development time of CDC Reign was lower than all the check cultivars. In contrast, extensograph dough maximum resistance and mixing energy of CDC Reign were higher than all the checks (Table 6). Loaf volume (cm³) of CDC Reign was higher than AAC Foray and CDC Terrain and the loaf top ratio was higher than all of the checks, except Glenn (Table 6). The remaining dough and baking properties of CDC Reign were within the range of the checks (Table 6).

Table 5.

Average values for quality attributes measured on yearly composite samples for CDC Reign and check cultivars from the High Yield Wheat Cooperative Registration Test (2016–2018).

Table 6.

Average values for dough properties and baking qualities measured on yearly composite samples for CDC Reign and check cultivars from the High Yield Wheat Cooperative Registration Test (2016–2018).

Other characteristics

SPIKES

Spikes of CDC Reign express weak to medium glaucosity at heading, have tapering shape in profile, medium density, yellow at maturity, erect attitude, and dense hairiness of convex surface of apical rachis segment. Spikes express white awns that are shorter than the spike with a spreading attitude; the glumes and their lower width are medium, glabrous; glume shoulders are medium width with straight to strongly elevated shape with second point present; long, moderately curved glume beak; straight to slightly curved lemma beak.

KERNELS

Kernels are medium red in colour, medium in size and length, between medium and wide width, ovate shape; cheeks are rounded; crease is medium to wide, and mid-deep to deep; brush size is between medium and large; the embryo is medium sized with round or broad elliptical shape.

END-USE SUITABILITY

CDC Reign is eligible for the Canada Prairie Spring Red wheat market class grades.

Maintenance and distribution of pedigreed seed

Approximately 200 single spikes of CDC Reign were selected from an F_5:10 increase grown at Saskatoon in 2016. The spikes were threshed and grown as single 1 m F_10:11 row plots in 2017. Off-type rows were discarded, and the remaining head rows were harvested individually and used to establish one hundred ninety-seven 27 m rows in 2018. Again, off-type rows were discarded and the remainder were bulk harvested to produce breeder seed. In total, 181 F_10:12 breeder lines were composited to form the breeder seed. Breeder seed will be maintained by the CDC, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK S7N 5A8, Canada. Distribution and multiplication of pedigreed seed stocks will be handled by FP Genetics Inc., 426 McDonald Street, Regina, SK S4N 6E1, Canada; phone: +1-306–791-1045; fax: +1-306–791-1046; website:  https://www.fpgenetics.ca/contact.php; email: info@fpgenetics.ca.

Author Notes

J.M. Clarke is deceased.