Grainnet

Date Posted: August 13, 2007

Bill Brown

Fort Collins, CO--A new high-yielding and stress tolerant variety of hard red winter (HRW) wheat, developed by the Colorado State University (CSU) Agricultural Experiment Station, has been released to seed producers in Colorado.

Named "Bill Brown" as tribute to a longtime CSU professor and Extension plant pathologist who passed away in 2003, the new variety has shown high yields in Colorado and excellent defense from both leaf and stripe rust.

In several years of field testing throughout eastern Colorado, the Bill Brown wheat variety has shown exceptional yield under both non-irrigated and irrigated conditions, very high test weights, and good milling and baking qualities, said CSU Wheat Breeder Scott Haley.

Haley leads a team of researchers, including Extension Entomologist Frank Peairs and Extension Agronomist Jerry Johnson, which focus on improving wheat varieties for Colorado's farmers.

"Bill Brown has been a top-yielder over a three-year average in the dryland trials, essentially equivalent to the high-yielding variety Hatcher," Haley said.

"That included two very drought-stressed years in 2005 and 2006."

He added, "Bill Brown has also topped our irrigated trials and has the potential to be the standard for irrigated wheat growers."

It took 10 years to develop Bill Brown, Haley said, with the first cross-breeding taking place in 1997.

CSU's wheat breeding program has established itself as a dependable developer of new, productive wheat varieties for Colorado growers.

In 2007, about half of all wheat acreage in Colorado was planted to varieties developed by CSU.

In an agreement between CSU, the Colorado Wheat Research Foundation (CWRF), and the Colorado Seed Growers Association (CSGA), ownership and marketing rights of Bill Brown will be offered to CWRF.

Bill Brown may be grown and sold only as a class of certified seed by CSGA members licensed by the CWRF.

The foundation will obtain a certificate of plant variety protection for these new varieties under the federal Plant Variety Protection Act.

Royalties paid to the foundation by certified seed growers from the sale fo these varieties is returned to CSU to support continued wheat research and variety development.

Dr. William M. Brown Remembered

Dr. William "Bill" M. Brown, who joined CSU in 1980, devoted his career to the improvement and management of disease of wheat and other grain crops, including leaf and stripe rusts.

He was a charismatic and upbeat individual and an internationally recognized and highly respected researcher, according to his colleagues.

Among several other leadership positions, Brown served as an international extension coordinator and faculty advisor for the Peace Corps.

He also had a witty sense of humor and an affinity for jazz.

The annually-awarded William E. Brown Jr. Memorial Scholarship was established in 2003.

"Bill was the kind of person that could fill up a room and make everyone happy," said Tom Holtzer, head of CSU's Department of Bioagricultural and Sciences and Pest Management.

"He was a tremendous researcher and an excellent, engaging teacher."

See Related Websites/Articles:

• Bill Brown's Variety Backgrounder
• Colorado State University

more GRAIN NEWS...