Selection of winter wheat cultivars with long coleoptiles is an important component of improving emergence, weed suppression and grain yield in low rainfall regions of the world. Seven winter wheat cultivars were hybridized in a Griffing's half-diallel mating design, method 2 (reciprocals excluded, parents included), model 1 (fixed), and the progeny analyzed for coleoptile length in the F 1 through F 4 for response to selection, general combining ability (GCA), specific combining ability (SCA) and heritability. Highly significant differences existed for GCA among progeny in each generation. SCA was highly significant in the F 1 , F 2 and F 4 , although SCA estimates were inconsistent among generations in each progeny population. The SCA/ GCA ratio was 0.15, 0.11, 0.06 and 0.04 in the F 1 through the F 4 , respectively, indicating that additive effects increased with homozygosity. Broad-sense heritability for coleoptile length was estimated at 0.86, 0.76, 0.60 and 0.78 for the F 1 through the F 4 , respectively. Realized heritabilities ranged from -0.16 to 0.85 with a mean of 0.32 in the F 3 and ranged from -0.68 to 0.68 with a mean of 0.13 in the F 4 . Spearman's rank correlation coefficients (R S ) were significant for all generation comparisons except the F 1 :F 2 , indicating that changes in rank for coleoptile length were insignificant. Cultivars with long coleoptiles and high GCA were the best parents for improving coleoptile length. Sustained selection over generations for coleoptile length was more effective than one generation of selection for genotypes both with and without reduced height genes.

Many of the current soft white winter (SWW) wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) cultivars produced in Washington are adapted to specific environments. The objective of this research was to develop a high yielding, disease resistant SWW cultivar with competitive yield potential for all Washington winter wheat production environments. ‘Xerpha’ (Reg. No. CV‐1045, PI 645605) SWW wheat was developed by the Agricultural Research Center of Washington State University (WSU) and released in 2008. It was selected from an ‘Eltan’/‘Estica’ cross made in 1999 and advanced to the F5 in the greenhouse by a modified single seed descent breeding strategy. Successive progeny were advanced under field conditions by a modified pedigree‐bulk breeding method under the experimental designations SSD01061 and eventually WA007973. Xerpha was the highest, or among the highest, yielding SWW cultivars in every precipitation zone in the WSU Extension Uniform Cereal Variety Testing Program (EUCVTP) trials in 2006, 2007, and 2008. It was released as a replacement for ‘Madsen’ and Eltan on the basis of its superior grain yield in Washington's low [<400 mm average annual precipitation (AAP)], intermediate (400–500 mm AAP), and high (> 500 mm AAP) precipitation zones; excellent grain volume weight; strong cold tolerance, and high‐temperature, adult‐plant (HTAP) resistance to stripe rust (caused by Puccinia striiformis Westend. f. sp. tritici).

Perennial wheat is emerging as a potential long-term response to agroecological problems resulting from soil erosion. We conducted field scale trials of 31 F 5 (2005-2006) and five F 6 (2006-2007) amphiploid breeding lines derived from Thinopyrum elongatum/Triticum aestivum (cv. ÔChinese SpringÕ)//T. aestivum (cv. ÔMadsenÕ) crosses. Here, we report results on post-sexual cycle regrowth (PSCR) and grain yield in the amphiploid lines and two annual wheat cultivars from three locations in Washington State, USA. Per cent plants per plot exhibiting PSCR varied significantly among genotypes and ranged from 18% to 81% (l = 45%) in the amphiploids, with no PSCR apparent in the annual cultivars. The mean grain yields of the amphiploid lines were 632, 2086 and 2226 kg/ha at each location; approximately 44% (range = 20-93%) of the annual wheat. Absence of genotype · environment interactions for PSCR suggests that selection for broad adaptation of the PSCR trait across locations and years would be possible. No relationship existed between grain yield and regrowth among the lines exhibiting PSCR, indicating potential for simultaneous selection of these traits.

Resistance to strawbreaker foot rot (caused by Oculimacula yallundae Crous & W. Gams and O. acuformis Crous & W. Gams) and to stripe rust (caused by Puccinia striiformis Westend. f. sp. tritici Eriks.) are important traits for winter wheat cultivars produced in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. The objective of this research was to develop an adapted winter wheat cultivar with highly effective resistance to both diseases. ‘Otto’ (Reg. No. CV‐1087, PI 667557) soft white winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) was developed and released in September 2011 by the Agricultural Research Center of Washington State University. Otto was tested under the experimental designations J980218, J980218‐6, and WA008092, which were assigned through progressive generations of advancement. Otto is a semidwarf cultivar adapted to the low rainfall (<300 mm of average annual precipitation), unirrigated wheat production regions of Washington. Otto is resistant to strawbreaker foot rot, has high‐temperature, adult‐plant resistance to the stripe rust pathogen, is tolerant to both speckled (caused by Typhula ishikariensis S. Imai) and pink [caused by Microdochium nivale (Fr.:Fr.) Samuels & I. C. Hallett] snow molds, is intermediate in height, has midseason maturity, and has a high test weight and grain yield potential. Otto has end‐use quality properties similar or superior to those of ‘Stephens’, ‘Brundage 96’, and ‘Xerpha’.

Resistance to strawbreaker foot rot (caused by Oculimacula yallundae Crous & W. Gams and O. acuformis Crous & W. Gams), stripe rust (caused by Puccinia striiformis Westend. f. sp. tritici Eriks.), and Cephalosporium stripe (caused by Cephalosporium gramineum Nisikado and Ikata) are important traits for winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) cultivars produced in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. The objective of this research was to develop an adapted winter wheat cultivar with effective resistance to these diseases. ‘Puma’ (Reg. No. CV‐1097, PI 670038) soft white winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) was developed and released in August 2013 by the Agricultural Research Center of Washington State University. Puma was tested under the experimental designations 5J030731, 5J030731–2, and WA008134, which were assigned through progressive generations of advancement. Puma is a semidwarf cultivar adapted to intermediate to high rainfall (>400 mm of average annual precipitation), unirrigated wheat production regions of Washington. Puma is resistant to strawbreaker foot rot, has high‐temperature, adult‐plant resistance to the stripe rust pathogen, is tolerant to Cephalosporium stripe, is intermediate in height, has midseason maturity, and has a high test weight and grain yield potential. Puma has end‐use quality properties similar or superior to those of ‘Stephens’, ‘Brundage 96’, and ‘Xerpha’.

Many soft white winter (SWW) wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) cultivars with high yield potential in the US Pacific Northwest lack adequate resistance to stripe rust or are only adapted to specific regions defined by annual precipitation. The objective of this research was to develop a SWW wheat cultivar with improved resistance to current stripe rust races and high yield potential across a wider range of climates. ‘Jasper’ (Reg. No. CV‐1124, PI 678442) SWW wheat was developed and released in September 2014 by the Agricultural Research Center of Washington State University. Jasper was tested under the experimental designations 5J061865‐11 and WA8169, which were assigned through progressive generations of advancement. Jasper is a semidwarf cultivar adapted to intermediate to high rainfall (>300 mm of average annual precipitation) wheat production regions of Washington, with acceptable yield potential in the lower rainfall areas (<300 mm of average annual precipitation). It has high‐temperature, adult‐plant resistance to the current races of stripe rust, is intermediate in height, has midseason maturity, and has an average test weight and high grain yield potential. Jasper has end‐use quality properties similar or superior to those of ‘Stephens’, ‘Puma’, and ‘Otto’.

In areas of the Pacific Northwest (PNW), snow mold, a fungal disease with multiple causal agents, can have severe impacts on winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L. subsp. aestivum) yields. Growing tolerant varieties is the best option to manage the disease; however, genetic diversity for the trait is limited in local varieties. The winter wheat

Evolutionary plant breeding (EPB) is a breeding method that was used to create wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)-evolving populations (EP), bi-parental and composite-cross populations (BPPs and CCPs), by using natural selection and bulking of seed to select the most adaptable, diverse population in an environment by increasing the frequency of favorable alleles in a heterogeneous population. This study used seven EPs to evaluate EPB in its ability to increase the performance of agronomic, quality, and disease resistance traits and adaptability across different precipitation zones. The populations were tested in field trials in three diverse locations over 2 years. Least significant differences showed the EPs performance was dependent on their pedigree and were statistically similar and even out-performed some of their respective parents in regards to grain yield, grain protein concentration, and disease resistance. Stability models including Eberhart and Russel’s deviation from Regression (S2di), Shukla’s Stability Variance (σi2), Wricke’s Ecovalance (Wi), and the multivariate Additive Main Effects and Multiplicative Interaction (AMMI) model were used to evaluate the adaptability of the EPs and their parents. The BPPs and CCPs demonstrated significantly greater stability over the parents across precipitation zones, confirming the capacity of genetically diverse EP populations to adapt to different environments.