New Herbicide-Resistant Wheat Variety Developed by OSU

A new variety of herbicide-tolerant wheat developed by Oregon State University's Wheat Breeding Program will be released this fall, opening a new avenue in product licensing and intellectual property for the university. The new soft white winter wheat variety, dubbed ORCF-101, was developed using traditional plant-breeding methods, and not through genetic engineering practices.

ORCF-101 contains a gene for herbicide tolerance patented by the BASF Corporation, an international chemical company based in Germany. The gene makes the wheat tolerant to the BASF herbicide "Beyond." The herbicide and the herbicide-tolerant seed are marketed together as a production system called CLEARFIELD.

This is new ground for the OSU Wheat Breeding Program. Over the last two years and with the help of a grower-industry advisory committee, OSU has developed a non-exclusive licensing strategy for the release and commercialization of ORCF-101.

“We have worked very hard to ensure our efforts and commercialization plans are in the best interest of our growers and the wheat industry,” said OSU wheat breeder Jim Peterson. “Short term, our goal has been to provide growers with a new variety and management option for problem weed situations. Long-term, we want to ensure we can access new genes and technologies, effectively collaborate with industry, and continue delivering superior wheat varieties to our growers.”

Peterson points to commercialization of the CLEARFIELD technology as an important step for OSU in developing successful public-private collaboration in breeding and genetics research.

ORCF-101 was bred from major Pacific Northwest varieties including Stephens, Madsen, and Malcolm and will "fit right in with current varieties, in terms of yield, performance, disease resistance and end-use quality for the marketplace," said Peterson.

"Beyond" is a broad-spectrum herbicide effective against jointed goatgrass, downy brome, wild oat, feral rye, Italian ryegrass, and other grasses. It has similar characteristics to many other herbicides now used in the Pacific Northwest.

The first certified seed stocks for commercial plantings are expected to be available in fall 2004. An informational meeting and training session for interested seed producers will be held on June 23, 2004 at 1 p.m. at the Pendleton Convention Center in Pendleton, Oregon.

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