SDSU Announces Top Performing Small Grain Varieties

South Dakota State University has released its small grain variety trial performance results for 2001, and top performing varieties over the past three years.

Spring Wheat
Top-performing varieties in 2001 (variety and top yield percentage) are Knudson and Reeder at 67%; Norpro at 55%; and Forge, Ivan, Oxen, and Saxon at 44%. This means these varieties are in the top-yielding group at 67%, 55%, or 44% of SDSU test locations for 2001. The best yielding varieties over the past three years are Ember, Forge, Ivan, Oxen, Reeder, Russ, and Walworth at 100%; Ingot and Parshall at 88%; Norpro and Saxon at 75%; Alsen and HJ98 at 63%; and Butte 86 at 50% of the test locations. Ingot has consistently exhibited the best bushel weight.

Oats
In 2001, Kildeer at 75%; and Ebeltoft at 50% exhibited the highest top yield percentages. During the past three years, the best top yield varieties are Ebeltoft and Loyal at 100%; Jerry and Troy at 80%; and Don, Richard, and Youngs at 60% of the test locations. Youngs and Ebeltoft exhibit excellent yields, but have tested 3 and 5 pounds lower in bushel weight, respectively, than Jerry.

Barley
In 2001, the best top yield group percentages are Logan and Legacy at 88%; Lacey at 75%; Conlon and Stander at 63%; and Drummond and Excel at 50% of the locations tested. The better varieties over the past three years are Logan and Lacy at 100%; Conlon and Foster at 88%; Excel, Robust, and Stander at 75%; and Drummond at 50% of the test locations. The two-row varieties, Conlon and Logan, tested one to two pounds higher in bushel weight than the six-row varieties over the past three years.

Winter Wheat
In 2001, the better-performing varieties were Crimson, Harding, Hondo, Millennium, Nekota, Quantum 7588 (a hybrid), Ransom, Tandem, Vista, Wahoo, Wesley and Windstar. The best varieties for the past three years are Alliance, Arapahoe, Crimson, Culver, Jagger, Millennium, Nekota, Quantum 7588, Ransom, TAM-107, Vista, Wesley, and 2137.  Winterkill was a major factor in South Dakota this year. It affected the test trials at Brookings, Watertown, Highmore, Wall, Selby, Britton, and Winner.

Robert G. Hall, Extension agronomist; Clair Stymiest, West River Extension agronomist; Kevin K. Kirby, agricultural research manager; and John Rickertsen, research associate, compiled the 2001 crop performance results.

The publication (EC 774) Small Grains 2002 Recommendations and 2001 Performance Results has more comprehensive information, including field pea data and crop adaptation area where small grain varieties are most suitable.  It is available on the Internet at agbiopubs.sdstate.edu/articles/EC774-02.pdf or through South Dakota county extension offices.

Table 1. Origin, disease reaction, and other traits for hard red spring wheat entries for year 2001.       Disease reaction   Variety Origin Stand- ability Leaf Rust Stem Rust Fusarium Head Blight PVP Status Alsen ND-00 Good MR R MR# ** Butte 86 ND-86 Fair MS R S No Chris, CK MN-65 Poor MS R S No Ember SD-99 Good MS MR MS# Yes * Forge SD-97 Good MS MR MS# Yes * GM40002 GM- - - - - - GM40016 GM- - - - - - GM40019 GM- - - - - - Hanna AP-03 Good MS MR - ** HJ98 MN-98 Good MR MR MS# Yes Ingot SD-98 Good MS R M# ** Ivan AP-98 V. Good R R - Yes Keystone WPB-01 Good MS MS - - Knudson AP-03 Good MR R M# ** Norpro AP-00 V. Good MR R MS ** Oxen SD-96 Good MR R MS# ** Parshall ND-99 Good MS R MS# ** Reeder ND-99 V. Good MS R MS# Yes Russ SD-95 Good MR R MS# Yes * Saxon AP-99 V. Good R R S Yes Walworth SD-01 Good MR R M ** +  R = resistant, MR = moderately resis., M = intermediate, MS = mod. susceptible,      S = susc. #  Consistent tolerance to head blight in grain yield and quality. *  Plant Variety Protection (PVP), Title V, Certification Option - to be sold by           variety name only as a class of certified seed. ** PVP application pending/anticipated.

Tips on Analyzing Variety Performance Information

Always compare yields from the same period of time. Compare one-year yields with other one-year yields and three-year yields with other three-year yields. Don’t compare a one-year average with a three-year average.

Before evaluating any data at a location, determine whether the data are valid. The coefficients of variation (CV) value often listed at the bottom of a table is a measure of experimental error. Yield tests with a CV of 16% - 20% contain relatively higher amounts of experimental error than tests with a CV of 10% or less.

Use the test least-significant-difference (LSD) value to evaluate yield differences between varieties. The LSD value indicates whether one variety really out-yields another. If a yield difference between two varieties is greater than the LSD value, the varieties differ in yield. If the yield difference is equal to or less than the LSD value, the varieties do not statistically differ in yield.

Sometimes a LSD value is not given and a designation such as $$ or N/A is listed. This indicates yield differences were not significant (NS) or yield differences could not be detected.

When evaluating yields, remember that environmental conditions at a test location seldom repeat themselves from year to year. Therefore, look at as much yield data from as many trial locations and years as possible.

Look at the performance or yield stability of a variety over several locations. A simple way of evaluating yield stability is to see how often a variety is in the top yield group over all test locations, giving the most credence to performance data in your growing area. – South Dakota State University.