Diverse cropping environments exist within the five-county area most closely served by Northern Agricultural Research Center. Winter wheat, spring wheat, barley, durum and oat production together in the five counties (Blaine, Chouteau, Hill, Liberty and Phillips), represents over 28 percent of the 2016-2020 statewide cereal production totals (43 percent for winter wheat, 28 percent for spring wheat and 21 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.
Standard off-station winter wheat variety performance trials were conducted on chemical fallow during 2021 in two northern Montana counties.
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.
Following a warmer than average late spring and summer, with minimal scattered precipitation, winter wheat yields at Turner averaged just under 18 bu/ac (Table 1). Breeding line ‘MTCS20156’, which has both Clearfield genes and a more solid stem for sawfly resistance, was the highest yielding entry at just under 27 bu/ac. ‘StandClear CLP’, at 24 bu/ac, was the only other entry in the trial to yield statistically equal to MTCS20156. Test weights of all entries were lower than normal, averaging 58 lb/bu. Wheat stem sawfly cutting was low in the winter wheat, averaging 8 percent cut with several of the solid stem breeding lines having no cutting at all. Plant height, yield, test weight, protein, falling number and sawfly cutting data for the 2021 Turner dryland winter 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 for seed yield and test weight at Turner are summarized in Table 2, while nine-year comparable averages for protein content and sawfly cutting are summarized in Table 3.
Loma winter wheat yields averaged just under 28 bu/ac (Table 1). ‘Brawl CL Plus’ was the highest yielding entry at just over 38 bu/ac. No other entry in the trial yielded statistically equal to Brawl CL Plus. Test weights of all entries were very low, averaging only 53 lb/bu. Wheat stem sawfly cutting was severe in the winter wheat, averaging 55 percent cut and lodged. ‘Bobcat’, ‘Warhorse’ and two MSU breeding lines were the least cut in the trial at Loma. Plant height, yield, test weight, protein, falling number and sawfly cutting data for the 2021 Loma dryland winter wheat trial are summarized in Table 4. Ten-year comparable averages for seed yield and test weight at Loma are summarized in Table 5, while ten-year comparable averages for protein content and sawfly cutting are summarized in Table 6.
Stand establishment in the fall of 2020 at Turner was spotty while stands at Loma were very good. Overall, the growing season started out cooler and drier than average, quickly turning to warmer and drier than average, with many fall seeded crops showing drought stress by early to mid-May. Meaningful rain events were minimal from late April through August, resulting in reduced seed yields and low test weights as northcentral Montana progressed from moderate to severe to extreme drought in 2021, as classified by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration U. S. Drought Monitor.
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 twelth year of winter wheat testing, while the Chouteau County location, between Big Sandy and Loma, has been used for various trials since 1998.
This research would not have been possible without the assistance of the following seasonal employees: Peyton Brown, Savannah Dawson, Teresa Miller, Kristin Obresley, Treygan Olson, Rhoda Peterson and Ivy Thomas.