Spring 1995
A Look at Four Research Projects Funded
by The MN Wheat Council
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Prairie Grains is the
official publication of
the Minnesota
Association of
Wheat Growers,
North Dakota Grain
Growers Association,
South Dakota Wheat,
Inc., and the
Minnesota Barley
Growers Association.
Crop research projects are identified and reviewed by the Small Grains Research and Communication Committee -- broadly represented by farmers, U. of MN crop scientists and agribusiness members -- before approved for funding by the MWRPC.
For a more comprehensive report of wheat-checkoff supported research from last year, write:
Minnesota Wheat Council, 2600 Wheat Drive, Red Lake Falls, MN 56750,or call toll free, 1-800-242-6118. Request the booklet: "1994 Wheat Research Reports."
TILLAGE AND CROP RESIDUE -- Research at Minnesota Experiment Station sites at Lamberton and Rosemount found that in primary tillage a disk, chisel, or sweep will usually penetrate 4 to 5 inches into the soil, and incorporate whatever is on the surface no deeper than 4 inches.
A moldboard plow usually penetrates from 7.5 to 9 inches and buries at least 75 percent of surface residue below 5 inches.
In primary tillage with a chisel, sweep, or disk, fresh residue is mixed with old residue in the top 4-inch layer, whereas a moldboard plow will bury new crop residue and return old residue to the surface.
With the findings, one is more able to compare tillage methods needed to achieve erosion control, increase or decrease water infiltration, and control herbicide movement or degradation.
Further, the results may help in evaluating how disease inoculum resides in crop residue, and how tillage methods may help in disease control.
STORAGE OF SCABBY WHEAT -- Does scab-infected wheat present a greater storage risk than disease-free wheat? The U. of MN Ag Engineering Department conducted a study to find out.
At 16 percent moisture, sound wheat had a longer storage life than scab-infected wheat. Still, scabby wheat kept longer than researchers thought, and as long as it is well-aerated and relatively free of dockage, unusual storage problems with scabby wheat aren't expected.
Surprisingly, scabby wheat stored slightly better than sound wheat at 18 and 20 percent moisture. That's possibly because at higher moisture contents, the Fusarium fungi that cause scab might inhibit growth of other common fungi that usually are the cause of damage in stored grain.
Thus, at 18 to 20 percent moisture, the spoilage risk for scabby grain is probably no greater than that for sound wheat in natural air or low temperature, in-storage drying systems.
Separately, results from this study indicate that at 16 percent moisture, wheat might have a longer storage life than corn. Conversely, it appears wheat at 18 to 20 percent moisture will deteriorate faster than corn at the same moisture.
Two notes of caution: Dockage is a wild card that could cause storage problems even if scab-infected kernels do not; and results from this study need to be confirmed with data from other years and other varieties (Norm was used in this study).
The U. of MN screened 85 Chinese winter wheat varieties for scab resistance last year. Scab has been severe in some areas of China, and Chinese crop researchers have already invested several decades of research into the problem.
Of the Chinese lines screened, 20 were determined to have resistance and were retested last summer, when nine were determined to be highly resistant. They are now being incorporated into the U. of MN spring wheat breeding program.
Separately, two new scab resistant spring wheat varieties developed at the U. of MN are being increased for possible release to seed growers in 1996. Both are lower yielding than some varieties currently grown, but they have high protein, good quality and rust resistance, and much better scab resistance than is present in any variety available now.
FOXTAIL MANAGEMENT MODEL -- Research conducted in the Northern Plains has indicated that yield losses caused by foxtail competition is variable, ranging from 0 to 47 percent.
There are currently no methods available to spring wheat growers or their advisors to help determine when foxtail control is needed.
Thus, U. of MN researchers are developing a foxtail management model for wheat, called WEEDSIM. Research in 1994 provided preliminary data for the model, which will be available to wheat growers within a few years.
Recommendations from a similar model for corn have reduced herbicide costs and amounts by about 60 percent in trial plots.