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.
Source : okstate.edu