Objective:                   

To evaluate soft white spring wheat varieties for agronomic performance in environments representative of northwestern Montana.

Results:                       

Significant differences were observed in heading date, percent stripe rust infection, plant height, lodging, yield, protein, test weight, and falling number. Heading dates averaged 172 Julian days (June 21) and spanned a 7 day period that ranged from 169 to 176 days. Stripe rust was observed on all cultivars and averaged 7.4%, ranging from 3.3% for M12001 to 15.7% for ALPOWA. Plant heights averaged 34.1 inches, ranging from 30.7 inches for WB6121 to 36.3 inches for ARS-Loualp68. Lodging was minimal with the exception of LOUISE and ARS-Loualp68 at 41.7% and 53.3%, respectively. Yield averaged 125.5 bu/A and ranged from 110.2 bu/A for ALPOWA to 142.5 bu/A for WA8224. Protein averaged 10.6%, ranging from 10.0% for M12003 and ARS-Alplou37 to 12.2% for WB6121. Test weight averaged 61.6 lb/bu and ranged from 60.4 lb/bu for Treasure to 62.5 lb/bu for ARS-Loualp61. Falling number averaged 308.5 seconds, and ranged from a low of 256.5 seconds for M12001 to a high of 345.1 for ALPOWA.

Summary:                   

WA8224 was the highest yielding variety and statistically equivalent to the greatest test weight and falling number values. Preliminary findings demonstrate that WA8224 is a suitable soft white wheat for this region. However, cultivar differences were prevalent and continual screening of soft white wheats is necessary to identify those which perform best in northwestern Montana.

 

Table 1. Materials and Methods - Western Regional Soft White Spring Wheat
Seeding Date: 4/22/2015 Harvest Date: 8/13/2015
Julian Date: 112 Julian Date: 225
Seeding Rate: 80 lb/A Soil Type: Creston SiL
Previous Crop: Winter Wheat Soil Test: 63-16-242
Tillage: Conventional-Till Fertilizer: 250-40-90
Irrigation: None Herbicide: Huskie Complete 13.7 oz/A
Fungicide: Quadris 6 floz/A Insecticide: Warrior II 1.92 floz/A

 

 

Table 2. Agronomic data from the evaluation of Western Regional Soft White Spring Wheat lines        
  HD SR HT LOD YLD¹ PRO² TWT¹ FN
Cultivar Julian % in % bu/A % lb/bu sec
WA8224 172 4.0 35.0 0.0 142.5 10.1 62.2 324.3
WA8239 173 4.0 32.7 0.0 136.9 10.7 62.0 310.7
WA82514 169 7.7 32.7 0.0 135.1 10.9 61.0 328.3
M12003 174 4.3 33.7 0.0 133.9 10.0 61.0 264.7
SY3024-2 170 6.0 36.0 8.3 130.2 10.4 61.7 314.9
UI Stone 172 8.7 35.3 0.0 128.8 10.3 62.2 293.0
M12001 173 3.3 32.0 0.0 127.0 10.4 61.2 256.5
IDO1404 169 5.7 33.7 3.3 125.0 10.5 61.4 299.9
ARS-Loualp61 173 13.7 35.7 0.0 124.2 10.4 62.5 304.3
ARS-Loualp68 175 8.0 36.3 53.3 122.9 11.1 62.1 343.7
IDO1403 173 5.0 31.7 3.3 121.8 11.2 61.8 308.6
WB6121 169 4.0 30.7 0.0 120.4 12.2 61.2 291.3
ARS-Alplou37 174 13.0 36.0 5.0 118.2 10.0 61.4 333.5
LOUISE 173 7.3 36.0 41.7 117.3 10.5 61.3 323.3
Treasure 176 8.3 34.0 8.3 113.7 10.9 60.4 294.7
ALPOWA 174 15.7 33.7 0.0 110.2 10.1 61.8 345.1
Mean 172 7.4 34.1 7.7 125.5 10.6 61.6 308.6
CV 0.5 48.8 4.6 213.7 5.9 2.3 0.5 4.8
LSD 1.3 6.0 2.6 27.5 12.3 0.4 0.5 24.7
Pr>F 0.0001 0.0029 0.0007 0.0077 0.0004 0.0001 0.0001 0.0001
HD: heading date, SR: stripe rust, HT: height, LOD: lodging, YLD: yield, PRO: protein, TWT: test weight, FN: falling number        
¹adjusted to 13% moisture, ²adjusted to 12% moisture