'Hatcher' Winter Wheat
	Hatcher Field Plot Julesburg, Colorado July 2004	Hatcher Field Plot Julesburg, Colorado April 2003

'Hatcher' winter wheat was developed by the Colorado Agricultural Experiment Station and released to seed producers in August 2004. Hatcher was selected from the crosses and backcrosses 'Yuma'/PI 372129//'TAM-200'/3/4*Yuma/4/KS91H184/'Vista' completed in 1993. The final cross was made between an RWA-resistant plant that was very similar to 'Yumar' and an F1 plant derived from crossing KS91H184 and Vista. Thus, the parentage of Hatcher is roughly 50% Yumar, 25% KS91H184, and 25% Vista.

Hatcher is an awned, white-chaffed, medium maturity, semidwarf hard red winter wheat. Hatcher has medium maturity, 144 d to heading from 1 January, 4 days later than 'Prairie Red' and one day later than 'Yumar' and 'Ankor'. Plant height of Hatcher is short (25.8 in), 0.6 in shorter than Prairie Red and 1.6 in shorter than Yumar and Ankor. Coleoptile length of Hatcher (73.6 mm, n=8 observations) is less than Prairie Red (85.0 mm) and Ankor (77.4 mm) but longer than Yumar (62.9 mm). Shattering tolerance of Hatcher is good (3.6 score, 1=no shatter to 9=severe shatter, n=3 observations), slightly lower than Ankor (2.7 score) but better than Prairie Red (4.1 score) and Yumar (4.2 score).

Selection History

Hatcher was selected in 1998 as an F4:5 line (assigned experimental number CO980607) following early generation advance from the F2 through the F4 using the bulk breeding procedure. Hatcher was evaluated in unreplicated preliminary yield trials in 1999, replicated advanced yield trials in 2000, and replicated, statewide variety trials from 2001 to 2004. Seed purification of Hatcher was done by rogueing off-type rows from 135 F9:11 headrows grown in Yuma, AZ, in 2002 and compositing the seed from rows with uniform appearance. Breeder seed (F9:12) was grown in 2003 under irrigation in Colorado.

Yield Performance

Hatcher was tested at 22 trial locations of the dryland Colorado Uniform Variety Performance Trial (UVPT) during 2001, 2002, 2003, and 2004. Grain yields of Hatcher (46.4 bu/acre) were slightly lower than Trego (47.3 bu/acre) but higher than all other entries tested including Ankor (44.8 bu/acre), Prairie Red (44.1 bu/acre), and Yumar (43.8 bu/acre). Test weight of Hatcher (58.1 lb/bushel) was lower than Trego (59.7 lb/bushel) but higher than Yumar (58.0 lb/bushel), Ankor (57.5 lb/bushel), and Prairie Red (57.4 lb/bushel).

Hatcher was tested at eight locations of the Colorado Irrigated Variety Performance Trial (IVPT) during 2002, 2003, and 2004. In these trials, Hatcher (98.2 bu/acre) had lower yield than Prairie Red (104.4 bu/acre) and higher yield than Ankor (96.9 bu/acre). The straw strength of Hatcher in these trials was only average (4.6 score, 1=erect to 9=flat, n=3 observations), less than both Ankor (3.9 score) and Prairie Red (2.3 score).

Disease and Insect Resistance

On the basis of field evaluations under natural infection in Colorado and cooperative evaluations through the USDA Regional Testing Program, Hatcher is moderately resistant to stem rust, moderately susceptible to leaf rust and stripe rust, and susceptible to both wheat streak mosaic virus and barley yellow dwarf virus. Hatcher is heterogeneous for resistance to the Great Plains biotype of Hessian fly and susceptible to greenbug. Resistance to RWA in Hatcher is conditioned by the Dn4 resistance gene which confers resistance to the original North American Biotype of RWA. Average resistance scores for Hatcher (2.0 score, 1=very resistant to 5=very susceptible, n=12 observations) in standard greenhouse seedling screenings tests are equivalent to Yumar, Prairie Red, and Ankor.

End-Use Quality Characteristics

Milling and bread baking characteristics of Hatcher were determined from three composite samples of grain from multiple locations in 2000, 2001, and 2002 and three single-location evaluations from 2001 (n=6 observations). Ankor (average overall milling and baking quality) and 'Prowers 99' (excellent overall milling and baking quality) were used as checks in these evaluations. Values for milling-related variables were generally superior for Hatcher relative to both Ankor and Prowers 99 while values for baking-related variables were generally intermediate for Hatcher between Ankor and Prowers 99.

Development Team

Scott D. Haley, James S. Quick, Frank B. Peairs, Jerry J. Johnson, John A. Stromberger, Sally R. Clayshulte, Bruce L. Clifford, Jeff B. Rudolph, Bradford W. Seabourn, and Okky K. Chung

Affiliations

• S.D. Haley, J.S. Quick, J.A. Stromberger, S.R. Clayshulte, B.L. Clifford, and J.J. Johnson, Soil and Crop Sciences Dep., Colorado State Univ., Fort Collins, CO 80523
• F.B. Peairs, and J.B. Rudolph, Bioagricultural Sciences and Pest Management Dep., Colorado State Univ., Fort Collins, CO 80523
• B. W. Seabourn and O.K. Chung, USDA-ARS-GMPRC-GQSRU, 1515 College Ave., Manhattan, KS 66502-2736

References and Notes

Breeder seed of Hatcher will be maintained by the Colorado Agricultural Experiment Station. Hatcher has been submitted for U.S. Plant Variety Protection under P.L. 91-577 with the certification option.

Acknowledgements

Hatcher was developed with financial support from Colorado Agric. Exp. Stn. Projects 795 and 646, the Colorado Wheat Administrative Committee, and the Colorado Wheat Research Foundation.