‘Shelly,’ the newest wheat variety developed by the University of Minnesota, will be available for viewing during demonstration plot tours next month.

Released in January, wheat experts say that Shelly is a high-yielding spring wheat variety well suited for much of the spring wheat-growing region.

In state trials, it yielded equal to the popular varieties “Faller” and “Prosper” and with slightly better protein. The heading date of Shelly is similar to Faller. It possesses a good disease-resistance package with moderate resistance to scab, leaf rust and bacterial leaf streak. It also has an excellent rating for resistance to stripe and stem rust.

View new wheat. ‘Shelly,’ the latest variety from the University of Minnesota’s hard red spring wheat breeding program, is in test plots available this summer.

Shelly is slightly shorter than Faller and has similar straw strength. It has good test weight and pre-harvest sprouting resistance.

Jochum Wiersma, U-M Extension agronomist, said that Shelly is a nice compliment to the university’s HRSW cultivars and replaces Norden in the top yield segment.

“It is a strong contender to replace both Faller and its sister line Prosper, which together have accounted for roughly a third of Minnesota’s wheat acreage in recent years,” he added.

The latest release is named after the town of Shelly which is on the west side of Norman County near the Red River and in prime wheat growing country. Shelly is home to the Red River History Museum, located in Shelly’s 1930s Art Deco school and run by the Norman County Historical Society.

Farmers can see Shelly plantings at upcoming U-M field days. Two-hour tours are scheduled for the following days:

June 27, 1 pm: Kimball - Dave Lochen Farm; trials are located on the corner of Cnty Rd 141 and Cnty Highway 8 in the town of Marty

June 27, 7 pm: Benson - Lee Seed Farm; trials are located on the corner of 70th Street NE and 50th Ave NE northeast of Benson

July 11, 5 pm: Fergus Falls – John Walkup Farm; trials are located along 175th Ave (Cnty Rd. 26) 2 miles east of the intersection of Cnty Rd. 26 and Cnty Highway 15 south of Fergus Falls

July 13, 9 am: Oklee – Swenson Seed Farm; trials are located west the curve of MN Highway 92 south of Oklee

July 14, 10 am: Hallock – Hugh Hunt Farm; trials are located one mile east of the intersection of Cnty Rd 58 and US Hwy 75 north of Hallock

July 14, 1 pm: Strathcona – Jim Kukowski Farm; trials are located on the corner of Cnty Rd 6 and 180th Ave northwest of Strathcona, MN

July 20: Crookston, NWROC. Details are available at www.nwroc.umn.edu

After recent storms, Weirsma said that plots are faring okay in the southern part of the state, but that there were problems last week with excess water in the most northern sites.

University of Minnesota experts will provide information relevant to the current growing season and answer questions. Bring samples from your fields for diagnosis and discussion.

Shelly joins several other recent University of Minnesota spring wheat varieties; Bolles (2015), Linkert (2013), and Rollag (2011).

More detailed performance data and comparisons of previously released varieties can be found on the Minnesota Agricultural Experiment Station website at www.maes.umn.edu.

‘Shelly’ will be distributed through Minnesota Crop Improvement Association members with seed available for planting in spring 2017.

Visit the MCIA website, www.mncia.org, where a list of certified seed producers will be available in September. Or, contact MCIA at 1-800-510-6242.