2021 Off-Station Spring Wheat Variety Trials

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Northcentral Montana Off-Station Spring Wheat Variety Performance Evaluations

Principal Investigator:  Peggy Lamb, Research Scientist, Northern Ag Research Center, Havre

Project Personnel:      

Jason Cook, Breeder/Geneticist, Spring Wheat, Bozeman

Hwa-Young Heo, Research Associate, Spring Wheat, Bozeman

Kyla McNamara, Research Associate, Havre

Eleri Haney, Research Associate, Havre

Jesse Fulbright, Liberty County Extension

Tyler Lane, Chouteau County Extension

Marko Manoukian, Phillips County Extension

Julianne Snedigar, Blaine County Extension

Cooperators:               

Max Cederberg, Landowner, Turner

Kurt Kammerzell, Landowner, Chester

Pete Lumsden & John Flansaas, Landowners, Loring

Terry McKeever, Landowner, Loma

Objectives:

Diverse cropping environments exist within the five‑county area most closely served by Northern Agricultural Research Center.  Winter wheat, spring wheat, barley, durum and oat production together in the five counties (Blaine, Chouteau, Hill, Liberty and Phillips), represents over 28 percent of the 2016-2020 statewide cereal production totals (43 percent for winter wheat, 28 percent for spring wheat and 21 percent for durum).  Producers are keenly interested in variety performance data generated under local conditions.  It is our objective, within budget and other resource limitations, to evaluate small grain variety performance, over time, under conditions representative of specific areas of northern Montana, yet differing from that of the Research Center.  Growers are provided reliable, unbiased, up-to-date information to make comparisons among improved spring wheat varieties.  This report provides producers in northcentral Montana the information necessary to select varieties best suited for their specific area and growing conditions.

Methods:

Standard off‑station spring wheat variety performance trials were conducted on chemical fallow or minimal tillage during 2021 in four northern Montana counties. 

Dryland Spring Wheat Trials:

1. Cederberg Farm, Blaine County S13-T36N-R25E
2. Flansaas/Lumsden Farm, Phillips County S24-T35N-R29E
3. McKeever Farms, Chouteau County S28-T27N-R10E
4. Kammerzell Farm, Liberty County S12-T31N-R5E

All four spring wheat trials consisted of 25 entries, and were seeded in replicated, 3‑row, 22‑foot plots on a 12‑inch row spacing, utilizing a self‑propelled cone seeder with Atom Jet paired row openers.  All rows of each plot were trimmed to a harvest length of approximately 17 feet with a three-point rototiller.  Plant height was measured from the soil surface to the top of the head, excluding awns, and percent sawfly cutting was visually estimated for each plot immediately prior to harvest.  A ‘Wintersteiger’ small plot combine, funded in part by the Montana Wheat and Barley Committee, was used to harvest each 3-row plot.  Seed was cleaned prior to measuring plot weight for yield determination.  Protein, test weight and moisture content were determined using a Foss Infratec 1241 near infrared analyzer.  Falling number was determined using a Perten FN1700 according to the FGIS Directive 9180.38.  Other variables specific to each individual trial are listed with the current year data tables.

Please note that research trial seed yield results recorded under wheat stem sawfly pressure are likely much higher than a producer should expect.  Small plot variety trials are managed to assess maximum yield potential and are harvested in such a way that all stems and heads are picked up by the combine, regardless of lodging or cutting due to sawfly.  Pickup guards coupled with an extremely slow ground speed and an exceptionally low cutting height help researchers collect all heads in order to assess seed yield potential.  If you are a producer in a wheat stem sawfly environment, although hollow stemmed varieties may be high yielding in research trials in your area, we strongly recommend against growing those hollow stemmed varieties.  Please be aware that if you seed hollow stemmed varieties with sawfly present, you are only creating a breeding ground for future generations of sawfly in your area and not helping combat the pest population.

Results:

Spring wheat seed yields at Turner averaged just over 18 bu/ac (Table 1).  ‘NS Presser CLP’ was the top yielding entry producing just under 24 bu/ac.  ‘Dagmar’ and breeding lines MT 1931 and MT 1934 all produced yields statistically equal to that of NS Presser CLP.  Test weights of all spring wheat entries for this site averaged just under 57 lb/bu.  Following a severe hailstorm in 2014, there were consecutive years with no wheat stem sawfly cutting or infestation in the spring wheat trial at Turner, with only minimal cutting from 2017 through 2021.  Plant height, yield, protein, falling number and sawfly cutting data for the 2021 Turner dryland spring wheat trial are summarized in Table 1. 

Comparable averages are calculated using a standard check variety when not all entries are present in a specific trial for all years.  Variety means are adjusted by multiplying the actual check mean by the ratio of the individual variety mean compared to the check mean for the same years as tested.  All varieties are then directly comparable to each other when in the same nursery.  A minimum of three years of data is necessary to be included in the comparable average calculation.  Nine-year comparable averages (2012-2022) for spring wheat seed yield and test weight at Turner are summarized in Table 2, while nine-year comparable averages for protein content and wheat stem sawfly cutting are summarized in Table 3.

Loring spring wheat yields averaged nearly 33 bu/ac with breeding line MT 1931 producing the highest seed yield at over 38 bu/ac (Table 4).  ‘Lanning’ and three additional breeding lines produced seed yields statistically equal to that of MT 1931.  For the seventh consecutive year, sawfly cutting was virtually nonexistent in the trial at the Loring site.  Plant height, yield, test weight, moisture, protein, falling number and wheat stem sawfly cutting data for the 2021 Loring dryland spring wheat trial are summarized in Table 4.  Nine-year comparable averages for spring wheat seed yield and test weight at Loring are summarized in Table 5, while nine-year comparable averages for protein content and wheat stem sawfly cutting are summarized in Table 6. 

In 2013, off-station spring wheat trials were re-established near Loma.  This site was hit very hard by severe drought following very good early season establishment.  The 2021 spring wheat was also laden with an aggressive infestation of grashoppers prior to harvest, resulting in a fair number of chewed stems and dropped heads.  Seed yields for 2021 averaged only 14 bu/ac (Table 7).  ‘Corbin’ was the highest yielding entry at just under 20 bu/ac and ‘WB Gunnison’ was the only entry to produce a yield statistically equal to that of Corbin.  Sawfly damage in the spring wheat small plot scenario averaged just under 28 percent cutting while head and stem loss due to grasshopper feeding was just over 24 percent.  Plant height, yield, test weight, protein, falling number, sawfly cutting and grasshopper feeding data for the 2021 Loma dryland spring wheat trial are summarized in Table 7.  Nine-year comparable averages for spring wheat seed yield and test weight at Loma are summarized in Table 8, while nine-year comparable averages for protein content and wheat stem sawfly cutting are summarized in Table 9. 

Spring wheat seed yields at Chester averaged 23 bu/ac, while test weights averaged just over 54 lb/bu (Table 10).  MSU breeding line MT 1938 was the highest yielding entry at just under 27 bu/ac.  Seed yields of Corbin, Dagmar, WB Gunnison and ‘WB9879CLP’, along with three other MSU breeding lines produced yields statistically equal to that of MT 1938.  Sawfly cutting in the small plot scenario averaged just over 17 percent in 2021.  Falling numbers are extremely low at Chester in 2021, for all entries, due to a late harvest occurring in early September, following a substantial rain event in mid-August.  Plant height, yield, test weight, protein, falling number and sawfly cutting data for the 2021 Chester dryland spring wheat trial are summarized in Table 10.  Eight-year comparable averages for spring wheat seed yield and test weight at Chester are summarized in Table 11, while eight-year comparable averages for protein content and wheat stem sawfly cutting are summarized in Table 12. 

Summary:

Cropping environments for 2021 started out cooler and drier than average quickly turning to warmer and drier than normal, with many spring seeded crops showing drought stress by late May to early June.  Timely rainfall was spotty during the mid- to latter part of May, all the way through harvest, creating significant negative impacts on regional seed yields and test weights.  Turner received below average rainfall throughout the season, while the Loring site received several timely and significant precipitation events that led to nearly double the seed yield of Turner.  The Loma site had good moisture early, however higher than normal temperatures, limited rainfall and heavy grasshopper infestations had negative effects on seed yield.  The Chester area also started the season with adequate soil moisture, but fell into the same hot, dry weather pattern of most of northcentral Montana.  The Turner, Loma and Chester sites were all seeded into chemical fallow and the Loring location was seeded into chemical fallow ground that had been minimally tilled to eliminate potential weed issues. 

This work has been strongly supported by producers near each of the off-station locations, and by the Northern Agricultural Research Center Advisory Council.  With budget and other resources allowing, it is planned to continue off‑station cereal variety investigations in the five‑county area.  The Loring location is entering its twenty-seventh year, and the cooperator and area producer interest and support has been outstanding.  The Turner location is only 32 miles from the Loring site, but growing conditions are quite different.  Cooperator and producer support in the Big Flat area has been outstanding through the years with 2021 marking 38 years at the present Turner site.  Various winter and spring cereal trials have been conducted with great producer support at the Chouteau County location, between Big Sandy and Loma, since 1998.  The Chester location was reestablished in 2014 following a prolonged absence of uniform off-station spring cereal testing in Liberty County.

Recognition:

This research would not have been possible without the assistance of the following seasonal employees:

Peyton Brown, Savannah Dawson, Teresa Miller, Kristin Obresley, Treygan Olson, Rhoda Peterson and Ivy Thomas.

TABLE 1. Dryland Fallow Spring Wheat Cultivar Evaluation Nursery Grown Off-Station at the Max Cederberg Farm, Turner.  Northern Agricultural Research Center.  Havre, Montana.  2021. (Exp# 21-9951-SW)

TABLE 2. Nine-Year Yield and Test Weight Summary on Selected Entries from Dryland Fallow Spring Wheat Variety Nurseries Grown Off-Station at the Max Cederberg Farm, Turner.  Northern Agricultural Research Center.  Havre, Montana.  2012-2021.
(Exp# 9951-SW)

TABLE 3. Nine-Year Protein and Sawfly Summary on Selected Entries from Dryland Fallow Spring Wheat Variety Nurseries Grown Off-Station at the Max Cederberg Farm, Turner. Northern Agricultural Research Center.  Havre, Montana.  2012-2021.  (Exp# 9951-SW)

TABLE 4. Dryland Fallow Spring Wheat Cultivar Evaluation Nursery Grown Off-Station at the Flansaas-Lumsden Farm, Loring.  Northern Agricultural Research Center.  Havre, Montana.  2021. (Exp# 21-9955-SW)

TABLE 5. Nine-Year Yield and Test Weight Summary on Selected Entries from Dryland Fallow Spring Wheat Variety Nurseries Grown Off-Station at the Flansaas/Lumsden Farm, Loring. Northern Agricultural Research Center.  Havre, Montana.  2012-2021
(Exp# 9955-SW)

TABLE 6. Nine-Year Protein and Sawfly Summary on Selected Entries from Dryland Fallow Spring Wheat Variety Nurseries Grown Off-Station at the Flansaas/Lumsden Farm, Loring. Northern Agricultural Research Center.  Havre, Montana.  2012-2021.  (Exp# 9955-SW)

TABLE 7. Dryland Fallow Spring Wheat Cultivar Evaluation Nursery Grown Off-Station at McKeever Farm & Seed, Inc., Loma.  Northern Agricultural Research Center.  Havre, Montana.  2021.  (Exp# 21-9957-SW)

TABLE 8. Nine-Year Yield and Test Weight Summary on Selected Entries from Dryland Fallow Spring Wheat Variety Nurseries Grown Off-Station at McKeever Farm & Seed, Inc., Loma. Northern Agricultural Research Center. Havre, Montana.  2013-2021.
(Exp# 9957-SW)

TABLE 9. Nine-Year Protein and Sawfly Summary on Selected Entries from Dryland Fallow Spring Wheat Variety Nurseries Grown Off-Station at McKeever Farm & Seed, Inc., Loma. Northern Agricultural Research Center.  Havre, Montana.  2013-2021.  (Exp# 9957-SW)

TABLE 10. Dryland Fallow Spring Wheat Cultivar Evaluation Nursery Grown Off-Station at the Kammerzell Farm, Chester.  Northern Agricultural Research Center.  Havre, Montana. 2021. (Exp# 21-9953-SW)

TABLE 11. Eight-Year Yield and Test Weight Summary on Selected Entries from Dryland Fallow Spring Wheat Variety Nurseries Grown Off-Station at the Kammerzell Farm, Chester. Northern Agricultural Research Center. Havre, Montana. 2014-2021.
(Exp# 9953-SW)