Southern Plains crop variety reviews · 2026.
The Southern Plains run on winter wheat and grain sorghum — drought tolerance, stripe rust resistance, and standability are the variety-selection axes that matter most. Oklahoma State and Texas A&M variety tests cover the full rotation in detail.
Semi-arid to humid subtropical transition. Hot, dry summers; mild winters. Wheat-fallow and grain sorghum systems dominate; irrigated corn in the High Plains.
Strong performers in Southern Plains
- Winter WheatUniversity Trial Data
Everest is a public hard red winter wheat release from the Kansas Wheat Alliance — widely planted across the Southern Plains and consistently included in OSU and K-State variety trials. Strong stripe rust tolerance matters in years with significant rust pressure.
- Grain SorghumSeed Company Data
DEKALB grain sorghum hybrids are widely tested in Oklahoma State and Kansas State variety trials and dominate the Southern Plains grain sorghum acres where rainfall is too low for reliable corn. Drought-tolerance is fundamental to sorghum's value and DEKALB has long been a leading brand here.
Southern Plains variety trial programs
Land-grant universities serving Southern Plains publish annual variety trial reports. These are the gold standard for variety performance data — independent, replicated, peer-reviewed methodology.
- Oklahoma State Crop Variety Testswww.croptesting.okstate.edu ↗
- Texas A&M AgriLife Variety Trialsvarietytrials.tamu.edu ↗