Project Title

Off-station winter wheat variety performance trials in Central Montana – CARC

Project Leader

Simon Fordyce, Research Scientist, CARC, Moccasin

Project Personnel

Sue Mondal, MSU Winter Wheat Breeding Program

Sally Dahlhausen, Research Assistant III, CARC

Tracy Watson, Research Assistant III, CARC

Objective

The main goal of this work was to identify the top-performing winter wheat cultivars in central Montana.

Methods

Standard winter wheat variety performance trials were established in Geraldine, Judith Gap, Belt and Denton in the fall of 2024. Trials included named varieties (17) and experimental lines (8) seeded in triplicate in 5-row, 5 x 16-foot plots to evaluate differences between varieties. Seeding dates were October 8 at Judith Gap and Geraldine and October 9 at Denton and Geraldine. Planting depth was 1 inch at a rate of 20 seeds/ft2. Starter fertilizer, 20-30-20-10 NPKS, was applied at seeding at a rate of 50 lb/ac. All plots were trimmed to a harvest length of approximately 12 feet and harvested with a small plot combine. Plots were harvested August 6 at Belt, September 3 at Geraldine, and August 14 at Denton.

Long term precipitation and temperature averages were derived using historical Agrimet data (https://www.usbr.gov/gp/agrimet/station_MWSM.html). However, Agrimet failed in May of 2025. Therefore, precipitation and temperature records from September 2024 through August 2025 were obtained through Montana Climate Office Mesonet Data Downloader, Moccasin Hydromet (https://mesonet.climate.umt.edu/dash/moccasin/).

Results

Precipitation in July was 2.05 inches higher (Table 1) and 3.4 °F cooler (Table 2) than long term (21-year) averages at the Central Agricultural Research Center (CARC) near Moccasin. A late killing frost on June 3 (Table 3) and a near-killing frost (32.5 °F) on June 23 may have damaged some of the more sensitive crops at the CARC. The frost-free period was 181 days. While weather conditions were favorable at the CARC, hailstorms were prevalent across the region, including at our Judith Gap testing locations (spring wheat, winter wheat, spring barley), forcing abandonment of these experiments in 2025. Hail was also reported at our Geraldine and Moccasin test sites, but damages were minimal.

Table 1. Monthly precipitation (inches) during the 2024-25 growing season with long term (21-year) averages.

Month

2024-25

Long Term Avg.

Difference

Sep

3.35

1.37

1.98

Oct

0.05

1.06

-1.01

Nov

0.44

0.5

-0.06

Dec

0.21

0.48

-0.27

Jan

0.47

0.42

0.05

Feb

0.46

0.41

0.05

Mar

0.6

0.5

0.1

Apr

0.58

1.25

-0.67

May

2.62

2.81

-0.19

Jun

2.6

2.13

0.47

Jul

3.11

1.06

2.05

Aug

1.51

1.53

-0.02

Sum

16

13.5

2.5

 

Table 2. Monthly air temperature (°F) during the 2024-25 growing season with long term(21-year) averages.

Year

2024-25

Long Term Avg.

Difference

Sep

61.9

56.5

5.4

Oct

50.3

44.2

6.1

Nov

32.4

34.2

-1.8

Dec

34.6

25.6

9

Jan

22

27

-5

Feb

12.6

24.7

-12.1

Mar

38

33.9

4.1

Apr

41.3

40.7

0.6

May

53.3

49.5

3.8

Jun

58.2

58.3

-0.1

Jul

64.8

68.2

-3.4

Aug

65.7

65.7

0

Avg.

44.6

44.1

0.5

 

Table 3. Key air temperature events with dates.

Event

Temperature (°F)

Date

Maximum summer temperature

92.5

19-Aug

Minimum winter temperature

-28.8

10-Feb

Last killing frost in spring

31.5

3-Jun

First killing frost in fall

28.8

5-Oct

Belt Location

The grand mean for grain yield was 46.0 bu/ac (Table 4). Significant differences were observed for yield (P = 0.0088), plant height (P < 0.001), and sawfly percentage (P < 0.001).

  • Top Yield Performers: MTAX22120 (55.5 bu/ac), Brawl CL Plus (54.3 bu/ac), and StandClear CLP (53.7 bu/ac) were among the highest.
  • Top Test Weight Performers: MTAX21203 (62.0 lb/bu), Brawl CL Plus (61.5 lb/bu), and MTCS2264 (61.4 lb/bu).
  • Sawfly Resistance: MT WarCat (6%) and Bobcat (7%) showed the lowest damage.

Table 4. Winter Wheat, Belt MT

Variety

Plant Height (in)

Sawfly (%)

Test Weight (lb bu-1)

Protein (%)

Yield (bu ac-1)

AAC Coldfront

28

48

61.4

13.0

44.2

AAC Wildfire

26

35

60.1

12.9

39.3

Bobcat

23

7

60.5

13.3

48.9

Brawl CL Plus

29*

25

61.5

13.3

54.3

CS Bridger CLP

23

52

60.0

13.2

35.8

Flathead

26

35

60.4

12.9

45.8

Fortress

26

23

59.6

12.8

49.3

FourOsix

25

37

59.2

13.6

39.8

Keldin

28

22

60.8

12.2

46.4

Loma

26

17

61.2

12.6

44.2

MT Meadowlark

25

18

60.2

13.2

42.1

MT WarCat

25

6*

59.8

13.3

45.3

MT2142

24

53

60.7

12.8

36.8

MT2270

24

32

59.9

13.1

35.8

MTAX21203

28

25

62.0*

11.9

51.6

MTAX22120

24

20

60.0

13.4

55.5*

MTCS22127

24

17

58.7

13.5

45.8

MTCS2264

24

22

61.4

13.5

50.6

MTS2286

26

10

60.5

12.1

53.1

MTV2164

26

35

60.1

13.1

41.7

Northern

26

23

60.2

13.1

46.8

StandClear CLP

27

27

60.8

13.4

53.7

SY Monument

26

27

59.2

12.2

52.5

Warhorse

23

8

59.9

13.5

43.1

Yellowstone

28

32

60.3

12.6

46.9

Grand Mean

26

26

60.3

13.0

46.0

LSD (0.05)

2.9

16

0.710

NS

11.1

P-Value

<0.001

<0.001

<0.001

0.615

0.009

CV (%)

6.9

37

0.720

6.79

14.6

Bold* = top performer within a column; Bold = equivalent to top performer within a column; NS= Not significant

Geraldine Location

The grand mean for grain yield was 45.9 bu/ac (Table 5). Significant differences were observed for yield, test weight, and protein (all P < 0.001).

  • Top Yield Performers: MTCS2264 (61.4 bu/ac) was the highest yielder, followed by MTS2286 (57.3 bu/ac) and MT2270 (52.6 bu/ac).
  • Top Test Weight Performers: MTCS2264 (63.5 lb/bu) and MT WarCat (62.3 lb/bu).
  • Top Protein Content: Brawl CL Plus (15.9%) and Warhorse (15.6%).

Table 5. Winter Wheat, Geraldine MT

Variety

Plant Height (in)

Test Weight (lb bu-1)

Protein (%)

Yield (bu ac-1)

AAC Coldfront

30

61.7

15.2

39.2

AAC Wildfire

27

62.2

14.4

46.4

Bobcat

26

61.9

14.6

50.0

Brawl CL Plus

32

61.2

15.9*

40.0

CS Bridger CLP

25

61.6

13.8

45.8

Flathead

31

61.2

14.5

43.3

Fortress

30

60.8

14.4

47.7

FourOsix

29

61.3

14.8

42.4

Keldin

27

61.9

15.3

38.9

Loma

27

61.9

14.5

50.8

MT Meadowlark

27

62.3

14.7

49.6

MT WarCat

28

62.3

14.7

49.0

MT2142

23

62.0

14.2

43.6

MT2270

28

62.4

13.7

52.6

MTAX21203

31

61.9

14.1

52.6

MTAX22120

29

60.6

14.4

42.4

MTCS22127

30

60.0

15.1

40.5

MTCS2264

27

63.5*

14.4

61.4*

MTS2286

27

62.1

14.2

57.3

MTV2164

33*

60.6

14.4

41.7

Northern

27

61.6

15.5

42.2

StandClear CLP

28

61.7

14.4

44.0

SY Monument

30

60.3

14.1

44.6

Warhorse

28

61.6

15.6

37.0

Yellowstone

29

61.2

14.9

43.6

Grand Mean

28

61.6

14.6

45.9

LSD (0.05)

2.7

0.5

0.8

5.91

P-Value

<0.001

<0.001

<0.001

<0.001

CV (%)

5.7

0.5

3.1

7.85

Bold* = top performer within a column; Bold = equivalent to top performer within a column; NS= Not significant

Denton Location

The grand mean for grain yield was 51.8 bu/ac (Table 6). Significant differences were observed for yield, height, and sawfly damage (P < 0.001).

  • Top Yield Performers: MTAX22120 (60.1 bu/ac), AAC Coldfront (59.8 bu/ac), and Flathead (58.6 bu/ac).
  • Top Test Weight Performers: MTCS2264 (64.1 lb/bu) and AAC Coldfront (64.0 lb/bu).

Table 6. Winter Wheat, Denton MT

Variety

Plant Height (in)

Sawfly (%)

Test Weight (lb bu-1)

Protein (%)

Yield (bu ac-1)

AAC Coldfront

30

20

64

10.4

59.8

AAC Wildfire

31

5

61.7

10.4

48.5

Bobcat

26

0*

63.2

10

53.1

Brawl CL Plus

29

23

63.7

10.6

46.4

CS Bridger CLP

25

27

62.8

9.5

34.3

Flathead

30

17

62.9

9.7

58.6

Fortress

28

13

62.1

9.8

56.5

FourOsix

27

35

62.4

9.7

43.2

Keldin

30

20

62.8

9.7

53.3

Loma

28

5

62.3

10

51.9

MT Meadowlark

30

0*

62.8

9.5

53.8

MT WarCat

31

0*

63.6

9.9

52.1

MT2142

26

28

62.6

9.8

42.1

MT2270

26

5

62.6

9.5

53.6

MTAX21203

31

10

63.6

10

52.3

MTAX22120

27

7

61.3

10

60.1*

MTCS22127

29

5

62.5

10.3

57.5

MTCS2264

27

0*

64.1*

10.3

50.5

MTS2286

28

5

61.1

10.3

57.5

MTV2164

34*

13

63.5

10.2

54.8

Northern

29

12

63.2

9.8

49.5

StandClear CLP

29

5

63.1

10.3

50.7

SY Monument

30

7

61.1

9.1

51.6

Warhorse

28

0*

63.1

9.6

46.0

Yellowstone

33

13

62.6

10.1

56.5

Grand Mean

29

11

62.8

10

51.8

LSD (0.05)

2.3

12.9

1.3

NS

10.2

P-Value

<0.001

<0.001

<0.001

0.337

<0.001

CV (%)

4.9

71.1

1.2

5.7

12.0

Bold* = top performer within a column; Bold = equivalent to top performer within a column; NS= Not significant

Summary

Overall, total precipitation was above, and average temperatures were below the long-term averages, while a hailstorm prevented harvest of winter wheat trials at our Judith Gap testing location and caused minor damages at Moccasin and Geraldine. Grain yield across all locations averaged 47.9 bu/ac and ranged from 45.9 bu/ac at Gerladine to 51.8 bu/ac at Denton. Although no variety was consistently the highest yielding across locations, MTCS2264 had high test weight at all three locations (Belt, Geraldine, Denton) and the highest yield at Geraldine. Brawl CL Plus was a top performer for test weight at all three locations and had high protein content at Geraldine.

Funding and MWBC FY 2025 Grant Submission Plans

An expenditure summary will be provided by OSP. No additional grant support was provided for this project. A request for continuing this project was submitted for funding consideration for the next fiscal year.