2022 Off-Station Winter Wheat Variety Trials

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

Northcentral Montana Off-Station Winter Wheat Variety Performance Evaluations

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

Project Personnel:      

Sue Mondal, Breeder/Geneticist, Winter Wheat, Bozeman

Jake Tracy, Research Associate, 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

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 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 chemical fallow during 2022 in two northern Montana counties. 

Dryland Winter Wheat Trials:

1. Cederberg Farm, Blaine County             S13-T36N-R25E
2. McKeever Farms, Chouteau County      S20-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’ 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 wheat stem 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:

Seeding in the fall after a drought that began early in 2021 resulted in minimal to no winter wheat emergence at both Turner and Loma.  High winds throughout the winter and spring caused soil erosion of bare fields surrounding the trial at Turner.  Blowing soil in the early spring at Turner filled the winter wheat furrows and blasted any of the seedlings that were able to emerge, leaving no surviving winter wheat plants.  At the time of spring wheat seeding, the winter wheat trial at Turner was abandoned and spring wheat was seeded through the area.  By late-April, emergence of winter wheat at the Loma location was still extremely spotty, with large areas containing no plants at all.  At the time of spring wheat seeding, we were also considering abandoning the Loma winter wheat trial.  Adequate precipitation during the first week of May resulted in germination and emergence of the entire winter wheat trial area and the collaborators adjacent winter wheat crop. 

There is no 2022 crop year data to report for the Turner site, however, long-term comparable averages have been included.  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.  Eight-year comparable averages for seed yield and test weight at Turner are summarized in Table 1, while eight-year comparable averages for protein content and sawfly cutting are summarized in Table 2.  Based on the comparable average calculations, ‘Bobcat’, ‘Loma’, and ‘Yellowstone’ are the highest yielding varieties at Turner, and of those three, Bobcat displays the least amount of sawfly cutting.

At the Loma winter wheat site, yields averaged just over 35 bu/ac (Table 3).  Bobcat was the highest yielding entry at 41.5 bu/ac.  Yellowstone, ‘StandClear CLP’ and ‘MT WarCat’ along with breeding line ‘MTCL19151’ all produced seed yields statistically equal to Bobcat.  Test weights of all entries were low, averaging just under 57 lb/bu.  Wheat stem sawfly cutting was severe in the winter wheat entries lacking tolerance and/or solid stems, averaging 53 percent cut and lodged.  However, entries with more solidness and/or tolerance to sawfly averaged only 8 percent cut.  There were six entries exhibiting less than 10 percent cutting, including Bobcat at one percent cut. Plant height, yield, test weight, protein, falling number and sawfly cutting data for the 2022 Loma dryland winter wheat trial are summarized in Table 3.  Ten-year comparable averages for seed yield and test weight at Loma are summarized in Table 4, while ten-year comparable averages for protein content and sawfly cutting are summarized in Table 5.  Based on the comparable average calculations, Bobcat is the highest yielding variety at the Loma site and has the least amount of wheat stem sawfly cutting over the years.

Summary:

Stands were not established in the fall of 2021 at Turner or at Loma due to drought and excessively dry seeding conditions.  Overall, the growing season started out cooler and drier than average, with many fall-seeded crops not emerging until adequate moisture was received in early May.  Meaningful rain events were minimal from March through May, resulting in reduced seed yields and low test weights as northcentral Montana remained in a severe to extreme drought throughout 2022.

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 thirteenth 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:

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

Table 1. Eight-Year Yield and Test Weight Summary of Selected Entries from Dryland Fallow Winter Wheat Variety Nurseries Grown Off-Station at the Max Cederberg Farm, Turner.  Northern Agricultural Research Center.  Havre, Montana.  2013-2022.  (Exp# 3851-WW).

Table 2. Eight-Year Protein and Sawfly Summary of Selected Entries from Dryland Fallow Winter Wheat Variety Nurseries Grown Off-Station at the Max Cederberg Farm, Turner. Northern Agricultural Research Center.  Havre, Montana.  2013-2022. (Exp# 3851-WW).

Table 3. Dryland Fallow Winter Wheat Cultivar Evaluation Nursery Grown Off-Station at McKeever Farm & Seed, Inc., Loma.  Northern Agricultural Research Center. Havre, Montana.  2022.  (Exp# 22-3853-WW)

Table 4. Ten-Year Yield and Test Weight Summary of Selected Entries from Dryland Fallow Winter Wheat Variety Nurseries Grown Off-Station at McKeever Farms and Seed Inc., Loma.  Northern Agricultural Research Center. Havre, Montana.  2013-2022.  (Exp# 3853-WW)

Table 5. Ten-Year Protein and Sawfly Summary of Selected Entries from Dryland Fallow Winter Wheat Variety Nurseries Grown Off-Station at McKeever Farms and Seed Inc., Loma.  Northern Agricultural Research Center.  Havre, Montana.  2013-2022.  (Exp# 3853-WW)