The first year of McVey as a released cultivar was not without problems. Heralded by me (and a few others) as being one of the best for scab, with a very high level of
resistance to spread in the head (type II resistance) and a tremendous yield potential, it was put on the fast track with a large winter increase in California. The Minnesota wheat checkoff dire
cted by the Minnesota Wheat Research and Promotion Council aided in this seed increase.
McVey is not the perfect cultivar (in fact, few are) and the shortcoming of the cultivar were well documented and related to you as a grower. In most, if not all my meetings, it was explained that despite its scab
tolerance and the high yield potential, McVey had:
1) Below average protein (13% to 13.5% would be considered excellent for this cultivar).
2) Below average test weight (58 lbs. test weight could be considered excellent for this cultivar).
3) Late maturity (which means that the cultivar should only be grown north of MN Hwy # 2.)
As harvest progressed, reports of the performance of McVey started coming in, and they weren't flattering. Especially late-planted McVey appeared to perform poorly, with yields as low as the 20s and test weights
in the low 50s. Not only the excess rain in May, but delayed arrival of the seed from the winter increase in California, surely didn't help the matter.
Several growers commented on the odd kernel shape: "It doesn't even look like wheat." Obviously these reports concerned me greatly, as the new variety was on my recommended list for 1999.
It was therefore, with great anticipation that I reviewed the performance results of McVey in the Minnesota Yield Trials and the Red River On-Farm
Yield Trials. In 1999, the Red River On-Farm Yield Trials were planted at eight locations of which Foxhome, Perley and Hallock were planted before
the heavy rains that delayed the field work in May. Of the remaining locations (Ulen, Oklee, St. Hilaire and Strathcona), I would only rate Oklee
as average and the other locations as poor. Ultimately, no plots were harvested in Strathcona and only half the plots were harvested in Alvarado.
Looking at the overall results of the 1999 Red River On-Farm Yield Trials, McVey ended up on a sixth place with a relative yield of 108% of the mean. Cultivars that have a similar maturity rating, namely Marshall,
Gunner, Keene, and AC Barrie, ended at 91, 74, 89 and 69% of the trial mean, respectively.
If we evaluate individual location data, it becomes quickly apparent that
McVey yielded excellent when planted early and poorly when planted late. The performance of McVey declined in more southern locations, and performed well in northern sites. Cultivars like Lars, Oxen and Russ are
high yielding even in a northern location like Hallock, indicating that the earlier-maturing cultivars did not encounter the same heat stress as the later maturing cultivars in 1999.
The extremely low test weights that were reported by some are an indication for me that not necessarily scab, but much more likely heat, caused most of the performance problems with the later-maturing wheat
like McVey. As we had stated before, this cultivar should stay north of Highway 2.
Someone reminded me that when Era was released, it had a very similar
first year. The seed increase arrived late from the winter nursery and yields that first year were very disappointing. In subsequent years it quickly
became the predominant cultivar. I urge you to give McVey the benefit of the doubt and hold on to the seed if at all possible and to try it again next year.
