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North Florida Research and Education Centjntral Science
Quincy, Florida I irary
Agronomy and Plant Pathology Departments
Gainesville, Florida JUN 07 1988
Quincy NFREC Research Report NF-88-5 University of Florida
Florida 303 A New Early Maturing Wheat for North Florida
R. D. Barnett, Agronomist, Quincy, P. L. Pfahler, Agronomist, Gainesville, H.
H. Luke, Plant Pathologist, Gainesville, and A. R. Zimet, Agronomist, Quincy
Wheat is an important component in the multiple-cropping minimum-tillage
systems widely used in Florida. The acreage and production which has
fluctuated over the years reached a record high in 1985 when 130,000 acres
produced 4,290,000 bushels worth $12,913,000 in Florida.
Florida 303 is an early maturing soft red winter wheat. It was developed
by the University of Florida at the North Florida Research and Education
Center at Quincy in cooperation with the Agronomy and Plant Pathology
Departments at Gainesville. This cultivar is high yielding, it has a high
test weight, is short statured, and has good resistance to races of leaf rust
and powdery mildew that attack other cultivars of wheat in the southeastern
United States.
Florida 303 was selected from a cross made in 1979 between a bronze glumed
sister line of Florida 302 and Coker 797. It was selected as a single F3
plant that had been screened to several races of leaf rust and was tested ex-
perimentally as FL7927-G21.
When grown under North Florida conditions, Florida 303 resembles the Coker
797 parent in maturity, plant height, and general appearance but is higher
yielding and has better disease resistance. It is bearded with white glumes
and does not have the multiple spikelet character of Florida 302. It is
earlier maturing, has a better test weight, and has superior leaf rust
resistance than Florida 302. Florida 303 is short in height (35 in.) and has
excellent lodging resistance. It is resistant to powdery mildew but has the
same susceptibility to Septoria glume blotch, and Hessian fly as other recom-
mended cultivars. Damage from Septoria and Hessian fly can be reduced
somewhat by late planting. This new cultivar has a low vernalization
requirement similar to Florida 301 so it performs well in late plantings and
in double cropping systems.
Application for plant variety protection will be filed with the USDA Plant
Variety Protection Office specifying that seed of Florida 303 is to be sold by
variety name only as a class of certified seed. Seed of Florida 303 will be
handled in a manner similar to Florida 302 with an assessment fee on regis-
tered seed production but no fee on certified seed production. Foundation
seed will be available in 1988 to Florida certified seed growers from the
Florida Foundation Seed Producers, Inc. P. 0. Box 309, Greenwood, Florida
32443.
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