New OSU Wheat Variety Wyatt Combines Yield Potential and Strong Management Fit
The Oklahoma State University wheat breeding program marked a milestone moment as Dr. Brett Carver unveiled a new hard red winter wheat variety during a conversation with Ron Hays. Speaking at the annual meeting of Oklahoma Genetics Incorporated in Oklahoma City, Carver described the release as a significant step forward for wheat producers across the Southern Plains, noting the extensive testing and careful decision-making that led to the launch of the variety now known as Wyatt.
Explaining how the new wheat variety got its name, Brett Carver, head wheat breeder at Oklahoma State University, said naming is never taken lightly. “Every variety goes through this… otherwise it’d just be numbers,” Carver explained. With parentage tracing back to Smith’s Gold and Gallagher—both tied to OSU—Carver said wrestling felt “in the DNA of this variety.” Inspired by OSU’s recent national championship, he added, “We need to honor that… so we’re going to name it Wyatt, after Wyatt Hendrickson.”
Carver emphasized the symbolic fit of the name, noting that Hendrickson hails from Newton, Kansas. “That is the heart of wheat country in the Great Plains,” he said, calling the connection “a perfect match.” Beyond the name, Carver told Ron Hays the variety brings strong agronomic promise, highlighting high yield potential when managed correctly. “It really needs to have the nitrogen management to get that yield up, and therefore we’ll keep the protein up,” he said.
Disease resistance and management were also key parts of the discussion. Carver was candid about the need for fungicide under heavy disease pressure. “If we really get banged up hard with leaf rust early, it’s going to need a fungicide,” he said, adding that even then, “that amount of fungicide… will put money in the farmer’s pockets. You’ll have to spend money, but you’ll get it back, and then some.” Stripe rust protection, he noted, is solid but still requires attention in high-pressure years.
After six years of yield testing—longer than average—Carver said the balance between yield and quality finally made sense. “I wanted to look at it some more,” he said, acknowledging that while Wyatt may not quite match Smith’s Gold in top-tier quality, it comes close. With proper nitrogen management, grazing flexibility, and strong kernel size, Carver concluded, “Manage it right, and I think farmers are really going to be happy with it.”
Carver announced the new wheat variety and its name at the annual Oklahoma Genetics, Inc. meeting on Thursday in Oklahoma City.
The following are the attributes of the Wyatt variety:
Very large kernel size with acceptable test weight and strong milling quality
A high-yielding ceiling with excellent straw strength and intermediate height
Average protein content
Moderately strong adult plant resistance to stripe rust
Moderate resistance to leaf rust, with fungicide application being necessary within environmentally challenged conditions to maintain kernel size and yield
Moderately strong resistance to barley yellow dwarf
Intermediate resistance to tan spot
Good grazing tolerance and yield recovery from grazing
Variable baking quality with slightly below average dough strength
Moderate susceptibility to Septoria nodorum blotch and Septoria tritici blotch under severe pressure
Low tolerance to suboptimal nitrogen applications
Wyatt has moderate but variable gluten strength that would be best used in commodity grain channels where it would be blended with other varieties and sources, according to Carver.
Additionally, OSU Ag News released this feature story about the new wheat variety:
New OSU variety is the heavyweight champion of wheat– From the mat to the field, the debut of a new wheat variety highlights the competitiveness and grit that define Oklahoma State University. On its way to market this fall, the variety is perhaps OSU’s most widely adapted since Duster in the early 2000s.
“This variety will compete on the farm at the highest levels of yield potential,” said Dr. Brett Carver, wheat genetics chair and Regents professor in the OSU Department of Plant and Soil Sciences.
“I could have just as easily called it ‘Heavyweight’ because if it was a wrestler, that is the weight class it would compete in. Currently, we don’t have any other varieties with this level of yield competitiveness and straw strength to keep them standing in the field under typical Oklahoma conditions in June.”
This heavyweight title inspired Carver in naming the experimental variety OK20708. The variety’s commercial name will be Wyatt after former OSU wrestler Wyatt Hendrickson.
Hendrickson wrestled at OSU for one season, accumulating an undefeated regular season record and qualifying for the NCAA Championships as the No. 2 seed in the heavyweight class. He won an individual NCAA Division I championship in 2025. He became the 145th national champion in OSU history and was the third OSU wrestler to win the Dan Hodge Trophy, awarded to the nation’s best collegiate wrestler.
Carver announced the new wheat variety and its name at the annual Oklahoma Genetics, Inc. meeting on Thursday in Oklahoma City. OGI is a nonprofit made up of Oklahoma seed producers and processors, who partner with OSU’s Wheat Improvement Team to market, license and distribute OSU-developed wheat varieties.
“OSU Agriculture is committed to developing wheat varieties that give producers the strength, resilience and performance they need to stay competitive,” said Dr. Jayson Lusk, vice president and dean of OSU Agriculture. “Each new release reflects years of research and a dedication to delivering exceptional varieties. If we can create the heavyweight champion of wheat with outdated facilities, imagine what we can do with modernized facilities.”
Wheat discoveries at OSU start at the Agronomy Research Station. OSU is investing in the future of OSU’s wheat breeding program by modernizing wheat research with the Agronomy Discovery Center, which will include a new headhouse, research greenhouses and a dynamic and multipurpose Research and Education Center.
During wheat research trials supported by the USDA-Agricultural Research Service, Wyatt wheat performed well across the Great Plains from central Texas to Central South Dakota, ranking as a top yielder in Kansas and Nebraska in 2024 and in Texas and South Dakota in 2025. In 2020-2023, Wyatt demonstrated yield superiority over three competitive OSU varieties — Showdown, Smith’s Gold and High Cotton, averaging five or more bushels per acre more than Showdown and six bushels per acre more than Smith’s Gold in 2021-2023.
Carver said the OSU wheat breeding program does not typically have experimental lines winning USDA-ARS yield trials in Nebraska, South Dakota and central Texas, particularly all at the same time.
Wyatt was bred from Romanian variety FDL Miranda and OSU variety Smith’s Gold, giving it lineage to OSU variety Gallagher, another variety with strong yield. By 2017, the Miranda variety accounted for the second-highest area of seed wheat produced in Romania. Both Miranda and Smith’s Gold have strong yield properties, with Smith’s Gold also carrying strong stripe rust resistance.
“I usually prefer many of our varieties to be marketed without blending because they stand so well on their own for baking functionality, but this one does not have enough dough strength to stand on its own,” Carver said. “But Wyatt can provide good baking performance with a reasonable balance of dough strength and extensibility. That, combined with an exceptional kernel size, carries a dual benefit for both farmers and millers.”
It seems appropriate that the heavyweight champion of wheat should be announced at the height of OSU’s wrestling season as the OSU heavyweight champions of wrestling prepare to face off against Virginia Tech at 1 p.m. Sunday in Blacksburg, Virginia. One final home match will be fought on Feb. 22, and the Big 12 Championship is slated for March 6 in Tulsa.
“We’re incredibly grateful to OSU Agriculture for honoring Wyatt in this way,” OSU Wrestling said in a statement. “It’s a powerful example of the Cowboy Code in action. Thank you, OSU Agriculture.”
