USDA wheat breeder Kim Garland Campbell distinguishes her club wheat varieties by giving them names that begin with the letter “C” — Chukar, Cara, Crescent and Chrystal.

Campbell and Washington State University jointly released Cameo, targeted for farmers near Genesee, Idaho, and slated for wider release in the next few years.

Castella had its first wide use last year. It fits intermediate rainfall regions and performs well in dryland areas, with good emergence from the soil, Hessian fly resistance and aluminum tolerance.

A “non-C” variety, Pritchett, came out of a cross with WSU’s winter wheat breeding program. The name honors longtime USDA technician John Pritchett, who worked for the USDA-ARS wheat breeding program from 1957 to 2000 under longtime USDA breeder Bob Allan.

Allan released 150 wheat germplasm lines and nine varieties during his 40-year career. He died in March 2021.

Allan published a book on club wheat in 2014. He told the Capital Press at the time that club was “the Cadillac of soft white wheats — the best there is.”

For naming inspiration, Campbell refers to the “clever,” short names selected by Allan.

Allan’s varieties included Madsen, Trace, Crew, Rely, and Coda — his final variety, released when he returned to the program for a year after retiring in 1996.

Allan made Campbell promise never to name a variety after him.

“Dr. Allan told me emphatically that I could not name a wheat after him,” she said. “He said, ‘You do that, and it will be the dog,’” meaning it would perform poorly.

“I still miss him a lot,” Campbell said. “I’m going to honor his wish and not name a wheat after him.”