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The number of adjectives needed to describe the 2009 growing season strain the English language. It was a year of opposites and extremes that will not quickly be forgotten. It started in 2008 with a very wet fall that caused massive soybean, sugar beet, and corn harvest problems. Ultimately, nearly a third Minn-Dak Farmers Cooperative’sbeet acreage in the southern Red River Valley was abandoned and a sizable portion of the corn acreage across the whole
northwest portion of the State was left standing until early this spring. The wet fall was followed by above average snow fall across the area. Combined, this caused widespread flooding in the southern
half of the Red River Valley during the second half of March. Unseasonable cold weather delayed or even halted spring run-off and ultimately prevented widespread flooding downstream.
This unseasonable cold weather continued for much of the month of April and little fieldwork
had been completed by the end of the month. Statewide 13% of the spring wheat acres had been planted by April 27, well behind the 5-year average of 23%. Rains in the beginning of May further delayed
planting. By May 17th, only one third of the acres had been planted which is well behind last year’s progress and the five-year average of 88 and 90%, respectively. Emergence was equally slow with less
than 20% of the crop emerged by the middle of May. Nearly 50% of the spring wheat acres were planted in the third week of May. Heavy rains over the Memorial Day weekend delayed progress once more and by
the end of the month, 12% of the spring wheat had not been planted yet. Just 65% of the spring wheat had emerged by the end of the May compared to 82% last year. The Memorial Day weekend rain also caused
major stand reductions as temporary flooding and/or saturated soil conditions caused germinating seed and emerging seedlings to die.
The cool weather continued for much of June. Consequently, the crops tillered very well.
However, the number of spikelets per spike, the second yield component, was less than expected with many fields and varieties not exceeding 13 spikelets per spike. On July 1, the USDA forecasted
Minnesota’s spring wheat to yield an average of 49 bushels per acre. Ultimately this was adjusted upwards to 54 bushels per acre in the September Small Grain Summary. This is the fourth highest average
yield ever recorded and followed the record and near record yields of 2007 and 2008, respectively. Individual reports of yields exceeding 90 bushels per acre were again not uncommon.
Harvest, was like the whole season, well behind last year and the 5 year
average. By September 1st, less than 30% of the spring wheat had been harvested. In comparison, last year nearly 90% of the spring wheat harvest had been completed by the same date. There were even a few
reports of spring wheat being harvested during the first few days of October.
Disease problems and yield or quality losses due to diseases were minimal. In all likelihood, this
was simply a function of the extremely cool conditions that didn’t allow diseases other than tan spot to develop to economically damaging levels.
Nonetheless, the overall quality of the crop was disappointing. While test weight was generally
excellent and there were little to no concerns about contamination with DON, there were concerns about sprout damage as weather delays pushed back harvest. The biggest problem, however, was the low to
very low grain protein percentages that have been reported throughout the region. Consequently, the discounts at harvest were very large. The protein discounts in combination with base prices nearly half
of just a year ago forced cash bids at harvest below $3.00 per bushels, at a price level that is well below both the break-even price for spring wheat.
Overall spring wheat acreage declined 14% to 1.6 million acres planted and 1.55 million acres
harvested. This decline was not simply a function of the spring planting delays but also a function of quickly escalated fertilizer input costs in 2008 and early winter of 2009. Winter wheat acreage
declined sharply to 55,000 acres. Barley acreage dropped below 100,000 and with only 95,000 planted and 80,000 harvested is the lowest acreage recorded since 1875. Oat acreage slipped 3% to 170,000 acres
harvested, the lowest acreage reported since 1867.
Introduction
Successful small grain production begins with selection of the best varieties for a particular farm
or field. For that reason, varieties are compared in trial plots on the Minnesota Agricultural Experiment Station (MAES) sites at St. Paul, Rosemount, Waseca, Lamberton, Morris, and Crookston. In
addition to the six MAES locations, trials are also planted with a number of farmer cooperators. These plots are handled such that the factors affecting yield and performance are as close to uniform for
all entries at each location as possible.
The MAES 2009 Wheat, Barley and Oat Variety Performance in Minnesota Preliminary Report is
presented under authority granted by the Hatch Act of 1887 to the Minnesota Agricultural Experiment Station to conduct performance trials on farm crops and interpret data to the public.
The MAES and the College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences (CFANS) grants
permission to reproduce, print, and distribute the data in this publication - via the tables, only in their entirety, without rearrangement, manipulation, or reinterpretation. Permission is also granted
to reproduce a maturity group sub-table provided the complete table headings and table notes are included.
Use and reproduction of any material from this publication must credit the MAES and the CFANS as
its source.
Variety Classifications
Varieties are listed in the tables alphabetically. No other distinction or classification is used
to group varieties. Seed of tested varieties can be eligible for certification, and use of certified seed is encouraged. However, certification does not imply a recommendation. Registered and certified
seed is available from seed dealers or from growers listed in the ‘Minnesota Crop Improvement Association 2010 Directory’, available through the Minnesota Crop Improvement Association office in St. Paul
or online at http://www.mncia.org/publications.html.
Interpretation of the Data
The presented data are the preliminary variety trial information for single (2009) and multiple
year (2007-2009) comparisons in Minnesota. The yields are reported as a percentage of the location mean, with overall mean (bu/A) listed below. Two-year and especially one-year data are less reliable and
should be interpreted with caution. Similarly, averages across multiple environments, whether they are different years and/or locations, provide a more reliable estimate of mean performance. The least
significant difference or LSD is a statistical method to determine whether the observed yield difference between
any two varieties is due to true, genetic differences between the varieties or to interactions with other variables such as a difference in soil fertility or experimental error. If the difference in
yield between two varieties equals or exceeds the LSD value, the higher yielding one was indeed superior in yield. If the difference is less, the yield difference may have been due to chance rather than
genetic differences, and we are unable to distinguish between the two varieties. The 5% unit indicates that with 95% confidence, the observed difference is indeed a true difference in performance.
Lowering this confidence level will allow more varieties to appear different from each other, but also increases the chances that false conclusions are drawn.The Authors and ContributorsThis report is written, compiled, and edited by Dr. Jochum
Wiersma, Small Grains Specialist. The contributing authors/principal investigators are: Dr. James Anderson, Wheat Breeder, Department of Agronomy & Plant Genetics; Dr. Kevin Smith, Barley Breeder,
Department of Agronomy & Plant Genetics; Dr. Deon Stuthman, Oat Breeder, Department of Agronomy & Plant Genetics; Dr. Ruth Dill-Macky, Plant Pathologist, Department of Plant Pathology; Dr. Brian
Steffenson, Plant Pathologist, Department of Plant Pathology; Dr. Martin Carson, USDA-ARS, Cereal Disease Laboratory, St. Paul; Dr.
James Kolmer, USDA-ARS, Cereal Disease Laboratory, St. Paul; Dr. Yue Jin, USDA-ARS, Cereal Disease Laboratory, St. Paul; Mr. Gerald Ochocki, USDA-ARS, Cereal Disease Laboratory,St. Paul; Dr. John
Wiersma,Agronomist, Northwest Research & Outreach Station, Crookston. In addition, Dr. Fred Kolb, University of Illinois contributed BYDV data for oats. Robert Bouvette; James Cameron; Roger Caspers;
Mark Hanson; Tom Hoverstad; Gary Linkert; George Nelson; Steve Quiring; Susan Reynolds; Edward Schiefelbein; Catherine Springer; Galen Thompson; and Donn Vellekson supervised fieldwork at the various sites. Special thanks are also due to all cooperating producers.
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