Registration of ‘3434’ Wheat

Soft red winter (SRW) wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) cultivar 3434 (Reg. No. CV-1040, PI 656754) developed and tested as VA03W-434 by the Virginia Agricultural Experiment Station was released in March 2008. Cultivar 3434 was derived from the three-way cross ‘Roane’/‘Coker 9835’//VA96W-270. Cultivar 3434 is widely adapted and provides producers and end users with a very short stature, stiff-straw, full-season cultivar that is resistant to powdery mildew [caused by Blumeria graminis (DC.) E.O. Speer], and has high yield potential, good winter hardiness, and good milling and baking quality. In Virginia's official variety trial, cultivar 3434 had an average grain yield (2006–2008) of 5981 kg ha–1, which was surpassed only by ‘USG 3665’ (6181 kg ha–1). In 2007 USDA-ARS uniform southern (39 entries, 19 environments) and uniform eastern (44 entries, 22 environments) SRW wheat nursery trials, cultivar 3434 produced average grain yields of 4455 and 4844 kg ha–1, respectively, compared with nursery mean yields of 4146 and 4791 kg ha–1, respectively. When evaluated for quality on an Allis Chalmers Mill, cultivar 3434 had moderately high break flour (314–327 g kg–1) and straight grade flour (757–762 g kg–1) yields, and softness equivalent values (70.8–88.0 g 100 g–1). Flour protein concentration of cultivar 3434 is moderately low (7.57–9.46 g 100 g–1), and gluten strength (104–110 g 100 g–1) is intermediate. These quality attributes of cultivar 3434 combined with low flour sucrose solvent retention capacity (85.8–88.5 g 100 g–1) contribute to its good pastry baking quality (cookie spread diameters of 17.08–18.81 cm).