AAC Coldfront hard red winter wheat

Abstract

AAC Coldfront is a hard red winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) cultivar with broad adaptation and excellent performance in all production areas of western Canada. Eligible for grades of Canada Western Red Winter (CWRW) wheat, AAC Coldfront was evaluated in the Western Canadian Winter Wheat Cooperative registration trials relative to CDC Buteo, Emerson, Moats, and AAC Elevate. Based on 32 replicated trials over 3 years (2017/2018–2019/2020), AAC Coldfront produced significantly more grain than all of the checks (108–115%) at a protein concentration similar to the check mean, suggesting an improved capacity to convert soil moisture and nutrients into grain under a wide range of western Canadian field conditions. AAC Coldfront expressed very good winter survival, medium to late maturity, short to moderate height, excellent lodging resistance, and high test weight. AAC Coldfront was rated resistant to stem, leaf, and stripe rust, intermediate in resistance to Fusarium head blight, and susceptible to common bunt. It became a check for western Canadian winter wheat registration trials in 2021/2022.