Forefront Canada Prairie spring red wheat

Abstract

Forefront is an awned hard red spring wheat ( Triticum aestivum L.) cultivar with high yield potential, shorter stature with good lodging tolerance, and excellent rust resistance. During the three years of testing in the High Yield Wheat Cooperative test (2017–19), Forefront yielded similar to and matured one day later than the highest yielding check cultivar AAC Foray. Forefront had 10 cm shorter plants than AAC Foray, with a similar lodging score. Forefront had slightly higher test weight, lower grain weight, and higher grain protein content than AAC Foray. Forefront was rated “resistant” to the prevalent races of leaf, stem, and stripe rusts, whereas “moderately susceptible” to common bunt and Fusarium head blight (FHB) during the three years of testing. The end-use quality characteristics of Forefront were within the range of the checks of the Canada Prairie Spring Red market class.