Objective: 

To evaluate hard red spring wheat varieties for agronomic performance in environments representative of northwestern Montana.

Results:

Significant differences were observed in heading date, percent stripe rust infection, head smut, yield, protein, test weight, and falling number. Heading dates averaged 171 Julian days (June 20) and spanned a 7 day period that ranged from 168 to 175 Julian days. Stripe rust averaged 5.4% and was observed on all cultivars. Glee was the most susceptible cultivar to stripe rust at 13.3% infection, and WB9518 was the least susceptible at 1.3% infection. Plant heights averaged 34.4 inches. Head Smut was detected in the nursery, with the highest infection levels being observed with Jefferson and UI Platinum. That being said, symptoms were noted on less than 3 heads per plot. Lodging was minimal with an average of 1.0%, ranging from 0.0% to 10.0% for Glee. Yields averaged 135.3 bu/A, ranging from 126.2 bu/A for UI Winchester to 143.7 bu/A for SY10136. Protein content averaged 13.0% and ranged from 12.1% for UC1741 to 14.8% for Egan. Test weight averaged 61.9 lb/bu and ranged from 60.7 lb/bu for Patwin 515 to 63.4 lb/bu for SY3051-9. Falling number averaged 375.3 seconds, ranging from 295.8 seconds for UC1744 to 491.6 seconds for Egan.

Summary:

Nine varieties were statistically equivalent to SY10136, the highest yielding variety. However, only one variety, SY3059-1, was statistically equivalent to Egan with respect to falling numbers. Varietal differences exist and therefore continual screening is important to identify those which perform best in northwestern Montana.

Table 1. Materials and Methods. 

Seeding Date: 4/22/2015 Harvest Date: 8/18/2015
Julian Date: 112 Julian Date: 230
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 Hard Red Spring Wheat lines - 2015. 

Cultivar HD Julian SR % HT in. Head Smut1 LOD % YLD bu/A2 PRO %3 TWT lb/bu2 FN sec
SY10136 HW 169 5.3 33.3 1.0 0.0 143.7 12.3 60.8 360.1
SY3001-2 HR 172 5.7 34.7 1.0 6.7 141.5 13.1 61.6 391.8
UC1745 HR 175 5.7 34.3 1.0 0.0 140.5 12.2 62.8 325.1
WA8217 HR 171 4.3 35.7 1.0 0.0 140.0 13.1 62.5 382.8
UC1741 HW 173 3.0 33.7 1.0 0.0 139.4 12.1 60.9 332.5
UC1768 HR 173 2.7 34.3 1.0 0.0 139.4 12.6 62.0 387.6
SY3051-9 HR 171 9.0 35.3 1.0 0.0 136.4 13.7 63.4 473.2
WB9518 HR 171 1.3 34.3 1.0 0.0 136.3 13.9 62.2 372.8
SY40292R HR 173 3.7 36.0 1.0 0.0 136.2 13.5 61.2 391.9
Patwin 515 HW 173 2.3 30.0 1.0 0.0 135.3 12.8 60.7 359.4
Jefferson HR 170 5.0 34.3 1.7 0.0 132.2 12.5 62.2 390.2
UC1744 HW 171 4.0 34.3 1.0 0.0 132.0 13.3 61.1 295.8
Glee HR 170 13.3 36.3 1.0 10.0 130.4 12.4 62.8 338.1
Egan HR 173 4.7 36.3 1.0 0.0 128.3 14.8 61.2 491.6
UI Platinum HW 168 5.7 34.0 1.7 0.0 127.5 12.2 62.7 358.8
UI Winchester HR 170 10.7 33.7 1.3 0.0 126.2 13.2 62.3 353.6
Mean   171.5 5.4 34.4 1.1 1.0 135.3 13.0 61.9 375.6
CV   0.6 59.4 6.6 21.6 443.6 4.7 2.7 0.6 3.5
LSD   1.6 5.3 ns 0.4 ns 10.5 0.6 0.6 22.0
Pr>F   0.0001 0.0061 0.2475 0.0063 0.3305 0.0345 0.0001 0.0001 0.0001

HW: hard white; HR: hard red; HD: heading date; SR: stripe rust; HT: height; LOD: lodging; YLD: yield; PRO: protein; TWT: test weight; FN: falling number; ns: non-significant
1 1 = none detected; 2 = 1-3 heads infected per plot (60 sqft)

2 adjusted to 13% moisture

3 adjusted to 12% moisture