Registration of ‘Wirtas’, A New Spring Spelt Cultivar in Poland

Abstract

‘Wirtas’ is a spring spelt (Triticum spelta L.) (Reg. No. CV‐1118, PI 677227) cultivar developed at the University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn, Poland. In 2012, the cultivar was tested in pre‐registration experiments and in 2013 to 2014 in experiments required for cultivar registration in Poland. In 2015, Wirtas was placed on the Polish National List of Agricultural Plant Varieties. In 2015, it was submitted for testing to the Community Plant Variety Office to obtain Community Plant Cultivar Right to the cultivar throughout the European Union, and it was entered into the Common Catalogue of Varieties of Agricultural Plant Species. Wirtas was bred by selection from accession PL 21803 of Triticum spelta var. coeruleum from the National Center for Plant Genetic Resources of the Polish Genebank in Radzików. In pre‐registration experiments, Wirtas produced an average spikelet yield of 5.45 t ha−1, which was lower by 16.3% than the grain yield of the reference wheat (T. aestivum L.) cultivar Hewilla. In registration experiments, the spikelet yield of Wirtas was significantly lower than the grain yield of the reference wheat cultivar Tybalt, by 23.6% and 16.2% at 50 and 100 kg N ha−1, respectively. Despite the above, Wirtas's significant resistance to the most dangerous fungal pathogens combined with high grain quality (high protein content, high falling number and sedimentation index) could turn breeders’ attention to Wirtas, particularly in organic farming systems.

Quality Parameters and Rheological Dough Properties of 15 Spelt (Triticum spelta L.) Varieties Cultivated Today

“…The experimental material comprised 14 winter spelt varieties: Schwabenkorn, Ostro, and Oberkulmer, which are three reference varieties known as pure spelt (Schwabenkorn is a German variety, whereas Ostro and Oberkulmer are Swiss varieties that meet the criteria for the Ur‐Dinkel trademark [http://www.urdinkel.ch/); Alkor, Samir, Tauro, Zürcher Oberländer Rotkorn (ZOR), Sirino, and Titan, which are winter varieties bred at Getreidezüchtung Peter Kunz, Switzerland (http://www.getreidezuechtung.ch/sorten/dinkel); and Stone, Cosmos, Epanis, Poeme, and Ressac, which are winter varieties bred at the Walloon Agricultural Research Centre (CRA‐W, Belgium). The experimental material included one spring spelt variety, Wirtas, bred at the University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn, Poland (Wiwart et al 2016), and two common wheat varieties: Bombona (spring elite variety, E) and Skagen (high‐quality winter variety, A) (Research Center for Cultivar Testing 2015). The seeds representing the analyzed spelt and wheat varieties were obtained directly from breeders and were sown in the Agricultural Experiment Station in Bałcyny, Poland (53°36′N latitude, 19°51′E longitude).…”

“…European countries grow mostly winter varieties of T. spelta . Wirtas, a spelt variety developed by Polish breeders from the University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn, was the first spring variety of spelt to be registered in the European Union, in 2015 (European Union 2015; Research Center for Cultivar Testing 2015; Wiwart et al 2016). There are only four other spring varieties of spelt, which were developed in Canada (Dorval et al 2015).…”