
SPRING WHEAT VARIETY PERFORMANCE SUMMARY IN MONTANA
H.Y. Heo, N. Blake, R.N. Stougaard, K.D. Kephart, V. Smith,
J. Eberly, E. Magnuson, P. Carr, J. Miller, P.F. Lamb,
C. Chen, D. Nash, and L.E. Talbert
INTRODUCTION
The agronomic characteristics of spring wheat varieties evaluated by the Montana
Agricultural Experiment Station are compared in this publication with other varieties
commonly grown in the state. The objective of this summary is to help farmers select the
varieties which will perform best in their area. Data from 2015-2018 is provided for each
of the testing sites. Data for varieties grown in previous years can be found on this
website:
http://plantsciences.montana.edu/crops/index.html
.
The map on the cover shows the districts in the state for purposes of reference for specific
areas of adaptation. A brief description is given which may include a variety's particular
advantages or disadvantages. The information was extracted from data collected and
analyzed from the Advanced Spring Wheat nursery. These reports are prepared by
research personnel of the Montana Agricultural Experiment Station.
VARIETY TESTING PROCEDURES
Locations
Typically, the Advanced Spring Wheat nursery is planted at 8 Montana sites; including
Bozeman (dryland), Kalispell (high rainfall), Havre (dryland), Sidney (dryland and irrigated),
Huntley (dryland), Moccasin (dryland) and Conrad (dryland).
Experimental Design and Data Collection
Varieties currently recommended, widely grown, or recently released are evaluated for
agronomic performance in the Advanced Spring Wheat nursery. Also evaluated in these
nurseries are experimental breeding lines tested against the check varieties
Agronomic data collected throughout the growing season includes heading date, plant
height, lodging, disease and insect reactions. Experimental plots are trimmed, measured
and harvested with small plot combines. The grain is weighed for yield and test weight.
One trait important to wheat growers is resistance to the wheat stem sawfly. The major
mode of resistance is a solid versus hollow stemmed variety. To evaluate this trait we cut
several stems of each variety and score them on a scale of
1=hollow, 2=2/5 solid, 3=3/5
solid, 4=4/5 solid and 5=solid. The cuts are made in the center of each internode, so there
are 5 scores per stem. The five scores are added up to get a total number ranging from
5=very hollow up to 25=very solid. Entries are submitted to the Cereal Quality Lab at MSU,
Bozeman for protein, milling, baking and Asian noodle quality evaluation as needed. Data
is analyzed and summarized for each location and overall comparisons are made to
determine which varieties and/o
r experimental lines look promising for Montana producers.
When sufficient data is collected and analyzed, promising experimental lines are
submitted to the MAES wheat variety release committee.