Overview

Chet is a hard red spring wheat. Chet is a standard height (tall) cultivar and is adapted to less than 14" rainfall regions of Eastern Washington. Chet has a height level of resistance to strip rust, hessian fly resistance, excellent test weight, very high protein content, and very good yield potential. Chet is intended to provide growers in Eastern Washington an  improved hard red spring wheat option in low rainfall regions. test weight is a critical trait due to frequent grading discounts in stressed environments. Protein premiums, or lower nitrogen requirements, are also frequently important to producers in marginal environments, since differences in yield across varieties are minimal without sufficient moisture. The over-wintering and spread of stripe rust from the horse Heaven Hills is a regional concern, and Chet could contribute to reduced inoculum spread to areas of the state. Chet contains white seed that should be considered a variant within the variety. A white seed variant may occur in Chet at a frequency of up to 0.50% (50 per 10,000 seed) in all classes of certified seed. Other variation from the original description of this variety should not be considered true-to-type. Chet is targeted as a Hollis replacement for low rainfall areas of Eastern Washington. Tall height, solid yield protection traits, excellent test weight, and excellent grain protein content make Chet a superior hard red spring wheat option for dry areas. Increasing profitability of spring wheat in <12" rainfall areas is a very incremental effort. Gains in test weight, disease resistance, and protein content are important to increase profitability. Hollis, the current standard height hard red spring wheat, is more susceptible to stripe rust, with 1 lb/bu lower test weight across trials and lower grain protein content, which may be important profitability factors in the Horse Heaven Hills and other low rainfall areas.  

Data Sheets