2020 Off-Station Winter Wheat Variety Trials

Note: A PDF version of this report can be downloaded by clicking this link

North Central Montana Off-Station Winter Wheat Variety Performance Evaluations

Principal Investigator: Peggy Lamb, Research Scientist, Havre

Project Personnel: 

Phil Bruckner, Breeder/Geneticist, Winter Wheat, Bozeman

Jim Berg, Research Associate, Winter Wheat, Bozeman

Kyla McNamara, Research Associate, Havre

Eleri Haney, Research Associate, Havre

Tyler Lane, Chouteau County Extension

Julianne Snedigar, Blaine County Extension

Cooperators:

Max Cederberg, Landowner, Turner

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 just over 28 percent of the 2015-2019 statewide cereal production totals (42 percent for winter wheat and 27 percent for spring wheat).  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 winter 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 winter wheat variety performance trials were conducted on minimal tillage during 2020 in two northern Montana counties. 

Dryland Winter Wheat Trials:

1. Cederberg Farm, Blaine County                                S13-T36N-R25E
2. McKeever Farms, Chouteau County                         S28-T27N-R10E

Both winter 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 Classic’ 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 wheat stem 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

Following a cooler than average summer, scattered with timely precipitation, winter wheat yields at Turner averaged just over 53 bu/ac (Table 1).  ‘MTS18149’, a wheat stem sawfly and aluminum toxicity tolerant Montana State University breeding line, was the highest yielding entry at nearly 67 bu/ac.  No other entry in the trial yielded statistically equal to MTS18149.  Test weights of all entries averaged just over 60 lb/bu.  Wheat stem sawfly cutting averaged just over 11 percent, with no cutting occurring in MTS18149, at Turner.  Plant height, yield, test weight, protein, falling number and sawfly cutting data for the 2020 Turner dryland winter 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 for seed yield and test weight at Turner are summarized in Table 2, while nine-year comparable averages for protein content and sawfly cutting are summarized in Table 3. 

Loma winter wheat yields averaged just over 59 bu/ac with ‘Northern’, a hollow stemmed release from Montana State University in 2015, producing the highest yield at nearly 68 bu/ac (Table 4).  ‘SY Clearstone 2CL’, ‘Byrd CL Plus’, ‘Brawl CLP’ and ‘Loma’, along with three breeding lines produced seed yields statistically equal to that of Northern.  Stem cutting by wheat stem sawfly was low in the small plot scenario at Loma, with cutting in the winter wheat trial averaging eight percent.  Plant height, yield, test weight, protein, falling number and sawfly cutting data for the 2020 Loma dryland winter wheat trial are summarized in Table 4.  Ten-year comparable averages for seed yield and test weight at Loma are summarized in Table 5, while ten-year comparable averages for protein content and sawfly cutting are summarized in Table 6. 

Summary

Above average precipitation throughout northcentral Montana in the fall of 2019 made for very good winter wheat establishment conditions for those seeding early, and recharged soils to set up a favorable cropping environment.  However, fall seeding was delayed in many areas where it was too muddy to return to the field for several weeks following the early fall rain and snow.  Overall, the growing season started out cooler and drier than average with many crops showing drought stress during early June.  Heavy rainfall was spotty during the latter part of June and into early July.  Precipitation coupled with prolonged cooler temperatures in July allowed for a longer period of grain fill, resulting in better than anticipated crop yields in several areas.  The Loma location suffered from lack of timely precipitation from May through July resulting lower than average winter wheat yields.  The Turner location received timely precipitation resulting in very good winter wheat yields. 

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 Blaine County location near Turner is entering its eleventh year of winter wheat testing, while the Chouteau County location, between Big Sandy and Loma, has been used for various trials since 1998.

Recognition

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

Peyton Brown, Jonathan Erickson, Daisen Fox, Faith Gasvoda, Isabella Lawless, Tracey Reed, Erin Taylor and Ivy Thomas.