Red Fife is a landrace wheat, meaning there is genetic variability in the wheat that allows it to adapt to a diversity of growing conditions. David Fife developed the variety in 1842 and by the 1860s Red Fife was distributed and growing across Canada, adapting to a broad diversity of growing conditions. Renowned as a fine milling and baking wheat it set Canadian wheat standards for over forty years.

Historical archives revealed that Rouge de bordeaux (RDB) appeared probably around 1865 in Lectoure, in Southwestern France, then started moving toward Bordeaux (still in Southwestern France) and toward Central France during the years 1870–1871 (Vilmorin‐Andrieux Companie 1880).

Sonora, a soft white landrace wheat, has a history here in the Southwestern United States, because it is a variety grown early by the agricultural Native Americans in Mexico. They used it to make their whole wheat tortillas, and apparently liked the way it could be ground to a whole wheat flour on their metate. Sonora wheat might be the very first wheat successfully introduced onto the American continent soon after Columbus’s famous journey of discovery in 1492. It was grown in the Southwest continuously until about 1960.

Desert King HP (Desert King –High Protein) is a modern durum wheat. It was developed by the University of California, Davis and released in 2011. Marker assisted selection was used to introgress the linked genes Yr36 for resistance to stripe rust and Gpc-B1 which increases grain protein content by approximately 10% more than Desert King into Desert King (from the cross Inter-11). Its experimental designation was UCD 08201/18. It has very high yield potential and very good pasta quality. Maturity (medium late) and plant height (averages about 34 inches) are similar to Desert King. Desert King HP has good straw strength. Desert King HP is partially resistant to stripe rust so can be grown in the Sacramento and San Joaquin valleys. The introgression of the Gpc-B1 results in levels of protein that are compatible with high quality durum. Desert King HP shows lower levels of black point than other durum cultivars. The objective of this cultivar is to extend northward the durum growing region in California. At the time of release it was resistant to stripe rust, leaf rust, Septoria tritici leaf blotch, and BYD, and moderately susceptible to powdery mildew. It was evaluated as Entry 1627 in the UC Regional Cereal Testing program in 2009 and from 2011-present for late fall planting in the Central Valley and the Imperial Valley of California.