2022 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

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

Lyle 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, and durum production together in the five counties (Blaine, Chouteau, Hill, Liberty, and Phillips), represents nearly 29 percent of the 2017-2021 statewide cereal production totals (43 percent for winter wheat, 28 percent for spring wheat, 22 percent for barley and 5 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 2022 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  S20-T27N-R10E
4. Kammerzell Farm, Liberty County  S11-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 37 bu/ac (Table 1), double the average seed yield of 2021.  Montana State University breeding line ‘MT 1939’ was the top yielding entry producing just under 46 bu/ac.  No other entry produced yields statistically equal to that of MT 1939.  Test weights of all spring wheat entries for this site averaged just under 60 lb/bu.  After years of minimal wheat stem sawfly infestation, cutting in the spring wheat trial at Turner increased to about six percent, overall.  Plant height, yield, test weight, protein, falling number and sawfly cutting data for the 2022 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 (2013-2022) 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.  Based on the comparable average calculations, ‘Vida’, ‘Lanning’ and ‘Dagmar’ are the highest yielding varieties at Turner.

Loring spring wheat yields averaged just under 24 bu/ac with breeding line MT 1939 producing the highest seed yield at over 27 bu/ac (Table 4).  Dagmar, ‘Reeder’ and six additional breeding lines produced seed yields statistically equal to that of MT 1939.  After seven consecutive years of virtually nonexistent wheat stem sawfly cutting, Loring also had a rise in sawfly damage similar to that at Turner.  Plant height, yield, test weight, moisture, protein, falling number and wheat stem sawfly cutting data for the 2022 Loring dryland spring wheat trial are summarized in Table 4.  Nine-year comparable averages (2013-2022) 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.  Based on the comparable average calculations, Vida and Lanning are the highest yielding varieties at Loring.

Loma spring wheat seed yields for 2022 averaged nearly 28 bu/ac (Table 7), double the yield of 2021.  Dagmar was the highest yielding entry at just under 34 bu/ac and MSU breeding line MT 1939 was the only entry to produce a yield statistically equal to that of Dagmar.  Wheat stem sawfly damage in the spring wheat small plot scenario was high, averaging just under 40 percent cut and ranging from 3.7 to 78.3 percent cut.  Plant height, yield, test weight, protein, falling number and sawfly cutting data for the 2022 Loma dryland spring wheat trial are summarized in Table 7.  Ten-year comparable averages for spring wheat seed yield and test weight at Loma are summarized in Table 8, while ten-year comparable averages for protein content and wheat stem sawfly cutting are summarized in Table 9.  Based on the comparable average calculations, Dagmar and Vida are the highest yielding varieties at Loma, while WB Gunnison, WB9879CLP and Dagmar have lowest percent sawfly cutting.

Spring wheat seed yields at Chester averaged just under 27 bu/ac, while test weights averaged just under 56 lb/bu (Table 10).  ‘NS Presser CLP’ was the highest yielding entry at just under 32 bu/ac.  Seed yields of Dagmar and ‘Duclair’, along with four MSU breeding lines produced yields statistically equal to that of NS Presser CLP.  Sawfly cutting in the small plot scenario averaged just under 7 percent in 2022.  Plant height, yield, test weight, protein, falling number and sawfly cutting data for the 2022 Chester dryland spring wheat trial are summarized in Table 10.  Nine-year comparable averages for spring wheat seed yield and test weight at Chester are summarized in Table 11, while nine-year comparable averages for protein content and wheat stem sawfly cutting are summarized in Table 12.  Based on the comparable average calculations, Dagmar is the highest yielding variety at Chester, and has the second lowest percent sawfly cutting.

Summary:

Cropping environments for 2022 started out cooler and drier than average with very few meaningful rain events from March through May.  During the first week of June, over an inch of precipitation was received in many areas across northcentral Montana, resulting in better than anticipated spring crop yields.  The month of June through mid-July was cooler than average, giving crops time to head, flower and mature prior to being hit with high temperatures typical of the season.  Overall lack of precipitation kept the majority of northcentral Montana in a severe to extreme drought throughout 2022, which resulted in reduced seed yields and low test weights. In comparison to other trial sites, Turner received significantly more rainfall events throughout the season, which is reflected in the spring wheat and durum seed yields.  The Chester area was not as fortunate, starting out the season with low soil moisture, and continuing that trend throughout the summer.  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-eighth 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 2022 marking 39 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:

Tracy Gorecki, Cleta Lamb, Kyla McNamara, Teresa Miller, and Emily Tripp.

Table 1. Dryland Fallow Spring Wheat Cultivar Evaluation Nursery Grown Off-Station at the Max Cederberg Farm, Turner. Northern Agricultural Research Center. Havre, Montana.  2022.  (Exp# 22-9951-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.  2013-2022.
(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.  2013-2022.  (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.  2022. (Exp# 22-9955-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.
2013-2022. (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.  2013-2022. (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.  2022.  (Exp# 22-9957-SW)

Table 8. Ten-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.  2013-2022. (Exp# 9957-SW)

Table 9.  Ten-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.  2013-2022.
(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.  2022.  (Exp# 22-9953-SW)

Table 11. Nine-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.  2014-2022.  (Exp# 9953-SW)

Table 12. Nine-Year Protein and Sawfly 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.  2014-2022.  (Exp# 9953-SW)