From AIM: Sawfly and midge-resistant wheat named AAC Oakman VB

A new solid stem spring wheat variety featuring both wheat stem sawfly and midge tolerance now has a name: AAC Oakman VB.

The variety, which is in its first year of seed grower increase and marked for a 2026 release, is a surprise even to its future seed supplier. This is because naturally-bred insect tolerance is rare, said Todd Hyra, western business manager for SeCan at Ag in Motion 2024.

“The crosses were made with midge tolerant varieties and solid stem varieties to generate it, but getting them all into one place is kind of amazing,” he said. “It’s traditional plant breeding and provides farmers with an onboard protection that is very economical.”

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Both wheat stem sawfly and midge are becoming a growing threat throughout the Prairies, so there’s never been a better time for a variety like this, said Hyra, who compared Oakman’s performance to longtime spring wheat favourite AAC Brandon.

“It’s been a while since we’ve had anything like that in terms of that part of our toolbox to manage those insects,” he said. “It has solid stem. It has midge tolerance on board. (It’s) short, strong, really no agronomic penalties. That’s always exciting when you’ve got a variety that provides those protections but no baggage in terms of weaknesses.”