The Grain Growing Classroom

Hard Red Spring Wheat Variety Selection in Minnesota (And possibly eastern edges of North and South Dakota)

by Jochum Wiersma
U of M Extension Small Grains Specialist
Northwest Research and Outreach Center
wiers002@umn.edu

The Minnesota Agricultural Experiment Station (MAES) conducts the State Variety Trials and publishes the results annually. For years, the results in the bulletin would include short variety descriptions and varieties would be categorized as “Recommended Varieties,” “Not Adequately Tested Varieties,” and “Other Varieties.” In more recent history, not only were the descriptions of varieties dropped, but the categories were eliminated all together.

The reasons to do so were different for the different commodities. In soybeans and corn the seed industry had evolved to the point that not all varieties or hybrids were entered in the State Variety Trials, making it impossible to make recommendations. In hard red spring wheat, the scab epidemics of 1993 and 1994 made making recommendations difficult at best. This fall MAES formally adopted the policy that variety recommendations no longer are published in the State Variety Trials Results bulletin.

So, in this brave new world, you ask me what varieties I would grow and I try to oblige each year. To be fair, however, these “picks” are not just mine.  Dr. Jim Anderson and I discussed each of the varieties and came to an agreement about the picks.

Underlying principles and assumptions that guide this process are below.

• The size of the premiums and discounts for grain quality, in particular grain protein and test weight, are unknown and unpredictable at the time we select our varieties.
• The incidence and severity of our economically important diseases, in particular Fusarium Head blight and leaf rust, are unknown and unpredictable at the time we select our varieties.
• The type of growing season we will have is unknown and unpredictable at the time we select our varieties.

Based on these three assumptions, variety selection is based on the following principles:

• Select varieties that have a leaf rust rating of 4 or less.  This will reduce the likelihood that fungicide use is needed prior to Feekes 10.51 to control leaf rust.
• Select the best possible genetic resistance/tolerance to FHB for at least a third of the acres as fungicides can only suppress rather than control the disease.
• Hedge against quality discounts by committing a third of the acres to varieties that are a balance between grain protein and grain yield.
• Plant the balance of the acres to varieties that maximize grain yield.

In a sense, this hedges against possible problems and mixes and matches varieties such that in any given year, returns can be maximized given the uncertainties faced in the assumptions described earlier in this paragraph.

So what does the picture look like for 2008:

Hedges against FHB - Freyr, Glenn remain the hedges for FHB. Both varieties are well adapted to the whole state of Minnesota with Freyr yielding slightly over the average and Glenn yielding slightly below the average of the trials. Glenn is noted for very high grain protein and test weight. Based on the 2007 results, Glenn maintained its resistance to leaf rust, while Freyr’s rating for leaf rust is borderline with a 4. Growers’ experiences have confirmed that Glenn is more difficult to thresh than most other varieties.

Balanced varieties - (Howard, Steele-ND, Briggs and RB07) are all selections that fit well in the definition of a balanced variety.  All these varieties have maintained a high level of resistance to leaf rust and are considered above average for FHB.  Of these varieties, Steele-ND has the worst rating for lodging. Lodging problems with Briggs have varied in the past with the greatest problems being reported when growing conditions in May were cool and wet, resulting in very lush vegetative growth.

Bushels, bushels, bushels - Knutson and Faller complete the list as varieties that most likely will maximize the number of bushels per acres. Grain protein with Knudson tends to be lower and near the bottom of variety trials. Faller, the 2007 release from NDSU, will also have lower than average grain protein. Both varieties have been rated as excellent against leaf rust and Faller has an FHB rating equal to Freyr, but with fewer years of rating has not been added to that category. Straw strength of Faller is probably not as good as Knudson, but additional years of testing will be needed for a definitive answer.

Variety Picks for North Dakota

By Joel Ransom
Extension Agronomist – Cereal Crops

With so many new spring wheat varieties adapted to North Dakota, picking varieties is more challenging than ever. Furthermore, given the diverse agro-ecologies of the state varieties that might do well in one part of the state may not necessarily do well in another region of the state.  Using data, however, from multiple years and locations can help select varieties that are not only high yielding in a single environment but that are relatively stable, meaning that they will do relatively well regardless of the year-to-year variability in the weather.

In the wetter part of the state where Fusarium Head Blight is frequently a problem, I recommend that the majority of the area be planted to varieties with tolerance to scab, particularly now that we have a number of good varieties with this trait to choose from.  My picks for this region of the state (eastern ND): 

• Faller – high yield, good scab tolerance, excellent leaf rust resistance but slightly lower protein and test weight.
• Glenn – Good disease resistance, good yield, excellent protein and test weight. Glenn was difficult to thresh in 2007, but that trait may be advantageous in years when shattering is problematic.
• Freyr – Good stable yield with average protein.

For regions of the state where scab is less problematic or for limited acreage in the eastern part of the state where scab is more problematic I would recommend the following:

Steele-ND, Howard, Faller, Kelby, RB07, Briggs and Glenn.  Traverse has high yield potential particularly in higher yielding environments but tends to have low protein in most environments.  Steele-ND and Howard seem to hold the heat better than most varieties and are good replacements for Reeder in western ND. Briggs has performed well in western ND during the past few seasons.