1996 Growing season:
midge mostly manageable; scab still scary

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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.

Just like last year, we started out wet and late. The above-average snowfall made many fields look like lakes in the beginning of May. "Lake Kittson" and "Lake Roseau" were added to the list of 10,000 lakes. Barely in the fields, a four-inch rain set work back another two weeks for many. This past spring was the latest fieldwork was ever started on the Northwest Experiment Station.

Cold soils, mudding the crop in, and the subsequent heavy rains, flooding and crushing problems resulted in stand problems in both wheat and barley. In many cases, breaking up the crust with a rotary hoe or a drag was enough to alleviate the problems, but numerous fields were replanted.

Once the crop was going, the temperatures climbed quickly to the high 80s, which was too warm and tillering suffered, reducing a second component of our yield potential. Except for the northern tier counties, this summer was dry. Yet everyone feared the terror of scab; scab in the three previous years made everyone leery. Enough so, that many were not confident to contract some new crop at all-time high prices just weeks after it was planted.

The drop in prices we experienced as harvest started merely reminds us that we are dealing with a global economy. Good crops in southern hemisphere, a million plus extra acres in the Upper Midwest and the Canadian Provinces, and record crops in parts of the Dakotas put pressure on prices. Even our expectations were exceeded in many cases. In early July, the Minnesota Department of Agriculture estimated an average yield of 34 bu/acre. This number was adjusted later to 42 bu/acre. We may be gaining back as much as half of what was lost in prices, but some forward contracting could have made the difference between hamburger or steak.

This summer was also the first time orange wheat blossom midge took center stage. Based on the experiences in the Devils Lake area in the previous year, the University of Minnesota put forth an extensive educational effort. Thanks to Dow Elanco and the Minnesota Association of Wheat Growers, many of you received a copy of a color fact sheet. Countless meetings in the first two weeks of July were used to show you what the critter looked like and how to determine if chemical control was needed.

In retrospect, I think it is safe to say that we were successful in our approach. Many growers now know what to look for. Compared to well over a million acres in North Dakota, it was estimated that some 100,000+ acres in Minnesota were treated. Although that is only around 5% of the total acreage, the economic impact is probably around a $1 million. There is no sure way to predict now whether you will be forced to scout at dusk next year, but with the emergence prediction based on accumulated heat units, as tested by NDSU, we can give warnings when emergence starts and ends. This should help tremendously in determining whether or not to scout.

Scab did not have the back burner or disappear altogether. Although drought prevented the disease from developing in many parts of the Valley, the fear of a single rain shower just before or at heading signifies the problems with this disease. The first results of the additional legislative funding are trickling through the pipeline. Lots of the progress that has been made is behind the scenes - new screening procedures and nurseries to test resistance, and a better understanding of the disease itself. But the whole research community has also come to realize that many questions are left unanswered. Answers we will need to solve the whole puzzle.

The northern part of the Valley had more problems with scab. No official estimates have been made with regard to the economic losses, but we are probably still talking about several million dollars in yield and quality losses. This does not include the lost yields due to varietal choices. Pioneer 2375 keeps dominating the acreage for one good reason - its resistance to scab, but other problems keep it from being everybody’s favorite.

Finally, you might be wondering where the data is of the yield trials I had in almost every northwest Minnesota county this past summer. The results will be available the third week of November through your local extension educator. Electronically you can access it at the website of MAWG (www. smallgrains.org). For this issue we limited ourselves to the state yield trials.

December 1995