Freedom was evaluated under the experimental designation OH413 in 22 year- locations of the Advanced Ohio Statewide Trials in 1986 through 1990. Freedom was also an entry in the Uniform Eastern Soft Red Winter Nursery in 1989 and 1990. In the Ohio tests, Freedom exceeded 'Cardinal' and 'Becker' in average yield by 9% and 10%, respectively. Freedom is resistant to leaf rust (caused by Puccinia recondita Roberge ex. Desmaz.), powdery mildew (caused by Blumeria graminis (DC.) E.O. Speer.), and wheat yellow mosaic virus in field evaluations in Ohio. It also appears resistant to all selected isolates of stem rust (caused by Puccinia graminis Pers.:Pers.) according to published 1990 "Uniform Eastern Soft Red Winter Wheat Nursery" results conducted by the USDA-ARS Cereal Rust Laboratory. Freedom exhibited few septoria leaf blotch (caused by Septoria tritici Roberge ex. Desmaz) or glume blotch (caused by Stagonospora nodorum (Berk.) Castellani & E. G. Germano.) symptoms under field conditions in Ohio in 1989 and 1990, even though these diseases were severe in both years in terms of overall nursery infections on cultivars and test lines other than Freedom. Tests conducted by the USDA-ARS Hessian Fly Laboratory , Lafayette, IN indicated that Freedom possesses the H3 gene for Hessian Fly (Mayetiola destructor Say.) resistance.
Freedom is an early to mid-season cultivar and is moderately short, averaging 5 cm shorter and 2 d earlier than Cardinal in Ohio tests from 1988-1990. Lodging resistance of Freedom appears similar to Cardinal and Dynasty. Freedom is winterhardy, similar to Becker, Dynasty, and Excel. The USDA-ARS Soft Wheat Quality Laboratory, Wooster, OH, has reported that Freedom possesses acceptable average milling and baking quality based on tests over six years. Quality is considered to be average. Grain volume weight of Freedom is relatively low, averaging approximately 6.4 kg m-3 below that of Excel and slightly more than 12.9 kg m-3 below that of Cardinal.
Freedom is awnless, white-chaffed, and possesses apical awnlets. Freedom appears most similar to Cardinal under normal field conditions in the Midwest, possessing very similar medium green foliage and head color. Freedom's juvenile growth habit is prostrate. Stems are hollow with 4 nodes. Auricles lack anthocyanin. At maturity, heads are dense, tapered and apically awnleted, averaging 83 mm in length. Glumes are glabrous, long and wide, with obtuse beaks. The glume shoulder is oblique to square. Kernels are red, ovate, with narrow creases, rounded cheeks, with a noncollared, short brush. Kernels average 7.0 mm long and 4.0 mm wide. Freedom's kernel weight averages 35 mg.
Freedom is a Title V protected cultivar under the provisions of the Plant Variety Protection Act (Certificate 9200253). Breeder seed of Freedom will be maintained by The Ohio State University, Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center, 1680 Madison Avenue, Wooster, OH 44691-4096.
ROBERT W. GOODING*, HOWARD N. LAFEVER, KIMBERLY G. CAMPBELL, AND LARRY D. HERALD (1)