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39th ANNUAL RESEARCH REPORT

Department of Research Centers

WESTERN TRIANGLE AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH CENTER

Montana Agricultural Experiment Station Conrad, MT

2016 Crop Year

Submitted by:

Dr. Gadi V.P. Reddy, Associate Professor of Entomology & Insect Ecology

Dr. Roger Nkoa Ondoua, Assistant Professor of Agronomy and Soil Nutrient Management

Dr. Frank Antwi, Postdoctoral Research Associate – Entomology/Insect Ecology

Dr. Scott L. Portman, Postdoctoral Research Associate – Entomology/Insect Ecology Dr. Govinda Shrestha, Postdoctoral Research Associate – Entomology/Insect Ecology John H. Miller, Research Associate – Varietal Testing/Entomology/Insect Ecology Ashish Adhikari, Graduate Student – Entomology/Insect Ecology

INTRODUCTION

The information and data reported are a collaboration of ongoing or new research projects located at or near Western Triangle Agricultural Research Center (WTARC) of Montana State University, College of Agriculture, Conrad, Montana. Many projects are conducted in cooperation with faculty members, research associates and Post-doctoral fellows from the Depts. of Plant Science and Plant Pathology (PSPP) and Land Resources and Environmental Science (LRES) located on the campus of Montana State University (MSU), and Agricultural Research Centers: Central (CARC), Northern (NARC), Eastern (EARC), Northwestern (NWARC) Southern (SARC) and Western (WARC) of the Dept. of Research Centers.

To simplify reading, trade or brand names of products, services, firms, or equipment are sometimes used. No endorsement of such names or firms is intended nor is criticism implied of those not mentioned.

This report is NOT FOR PUBLICATION. No part may be published or reproduced in any form without prior consent of the authors.

Table of Contents

Weather Data

Varietal Testing Program

Winter wheat variety evaluations at Western Triangle Ag. Research Center

Spring wheat variety evaluations at Western Triangle Ag. Research Center

Wheat Stem Sawfly Tolerant & Semi-tolerant Hard Red Spring Wheat Varieties Notes and Comments

Hollow-Stem, Wheat Stem Sawfly Intolerant Hard Red Spring Wheat Varieties Notes and Comments

Hard White Spring Wheat Notes and Comments

Durum Notes and Comments

Spring barley variety evaluation at Western Triangle Ag. Research Center

Barley Variety Notes & Comments

Canola variety and Green and Grow evaluations at Western Triangle Ag. Research Center

Soil Testing

Soil Testing Values

Entomology /Insect Ecology Program

Entomopathogenic Nematodes Combined with Adjuvants Presents a New Potential Biological Control Method for Managing the Wheat Stem Sawfly, Cephus cinctus (Hymenoptera: Cephidae)

Evaluation of Reduced Risk Insecticides for Management of Wireworms (Coleoptera: Elateridae) on Spring Wheat

Evaluation of Trap Crops for the Management of Wireworms in Spring Wheat in Montana 

Monitoring of Wheat Midge and the Associated Parasitoid Macroglenes penetrans in Spring Wheat Fields 

Introduction of two Biocontrol Agents Euxestonotus error and Platygaster tuberosula for the Management of Wheat Midge Population in Montana 

Field Evaluation of Bio-pesticides Against Wheat Midge, Sitodiplosis mosellana 

Development of Pheromone based Monitoring and Mass Trapping for Pea Leaf Weevil in Pulse Crops 

Laboratory Evaluation of Bio-pesticides against Pea Leaf Weevil Sitona lineatus (L.) (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) Adults 

New pest in Montana-Pea weevil: Determining Weevil Population Distribution, Abundance, and Pea Damage Assessments 

Effect of Bio-pesticides against Canola Flea Beetle, Phyllotreta cruciferae 

Determining Efficacy of Bacillus thuringiensis galleriae STS-502 (BeetleGone ®) Against the Larvae of Alfalfa Weevil Hypera postica Gyllenhal under Montana Conditions 

Joint Toxicity and Risk of Bifenthrin and Zeta-cypermethrin to a Non-target Insect 

Analysis of the Spatio-Temporal Distribution of Major Insect Fauna of Alfalfa by Using Geostatistical and Spatial Analysis by Distance Indices: Implications for Pest Management 

Western Triangle Agricultural Reserach Center Agronomy and Nutrient Management Program

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The following faculty, former faculty, research associates, members of the Advisory Committee, cooperating producers and summer staff were involved or cooperated in accomplishing the research mission at Western Triangle Ag. Research Center:

Dr. Phil Bruckner and Jim Berg – Winter Wheat Variety Breeding Program

Dr. Luther Talbert and Hwa-Young Heo – Spring Wheat Variety Breeding Program Dr. Stefan T. Jaronski, USDA-ARS, Sidney, MT – Entomopathogenic fungi

Dr. David I. Shapiro-Ilan, USDA-ARS, Byron, Georgia – Entomopathogenic nematodes

Drs. David Weaver, Kevin Wanner and R.K.D. Peterson, LRES – Wheat stem sawfly/wireworms Dr. Héctor A. Cárcamo, Agri-Food Canada, Lethbridge, Canada – Canola IPM

Dr. Owen Olfert, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Saskatoon, Canada –wheat midge Dr. Jamie Sherman and Liz Elmore – Barley Variety Breeding Program

Dr. Chengci Chen and Dr. Yusuf Mohammad – Pulse Crop Variety Testing Program Dr. Joyce Eckoff – Durum Variety Breeding and Testing Program

Dr. Bob Stougaard and Brooke Bohannon - Canola Variety Testing Program Shad Chrisman – Farm Mechanic/Safety Coordinator, WTARC

Philip L. Hammermeister – Research Assistant, WTARC Julie Prewett – Research Assistant III, WTARC

Debbie Miller – Research Assistant III, WTARC – Pea leaf weevil Rama Gadi – Research Associate – Pea weevil

Julie Orcutt – Admin Associate III, WTARC

 

WTARC Advisory Committee and cooperating producers: Boyd Standley, Dan Picard, Jeff Farkell, Jerry Jerome, Kevin Bradley, Megan Mattson-Hedges, Phillip Hodgson, Rob Moog, Scott Inbody, Terry Alme, Dusty Jones, Mark Grubb, Phil Aschim, Steve Kellog, Dan Meuli, Jeremy Curry, Aaron Killion and Brian Aklestad.

 

Summer Staff: Bert Paulsen, Blake Underdahl, Connie Miller, Dawson Berg, Gaby Drishinski, Kendall Franks, Mikayla Connelly, Michaela DeBoo, Morgan Koenig, Will Early