Triticale Anyone?

By Russ Karow

Triticale is a small grain like wheat or barley. It is a hybrid resulting from a cross between wheat and rye. It is a man-made crop in that plant breeders must physically make crosses and then manipulate the resultant progeny in various ways to obtain a self-fertile plant. An array of very different triticale varieties is available.

The objective behind making wheat x rye crosses is to capture the best traits of each species. Wheat yields are higher than rye yields and grain quality is better. But ryes have greater disease resistance and also tend to be more tolerant of environmental stresses. Triticales are typically intermediate to their parent species.

Triticales have been grown off and on in Oregon for the past twenty years. Those who have experimented will recall names like Grace, Juan, Whitman, Flora and Jenkins. These varieties achieved some level of success but growers typically did not see marked production advantages or wheat and feed grain programs dictated that growers must grow wheat or barley to maintain program eligibility.

But times have changed. "Freedom to Farm" legislation allows for the production of crops such as triticale and there are newer varieties. Celia is an Oregon State University variety released in 1993. It has a yield potential similar to winter wheats and hence significantly better than most winter barleys. Seed is plump and test weights are typically greater than 57 lb/bu. Test weights of earlier varieties were generally below 55 lbs. Celia grain looks a lot like soft red winter wheat. Celia is similar in height to wheat varieties like Stephens and is very resistant to lodging. For those interested in experimenting with a wheat-like triticale, Celia is the best bet.

For the more adventuresome, look to Poland. Triticale breeders at the Malyszyn Experiment Station in Poland have been working on triticales for decades. Over the last two years we have tested their variety Bogo in several locations as part of the Statewide Cereal Variety Testing Program - a research effort funded in part by the Oregon Grains Commission. Over this time, Bogo has shown marked yield advantages over Stephens and Madsen winter wheats with an average yield of 135 bu/a over five site-years versus 103 for Stephens at these same locations (see table 1). However, it should be noted that the greatest differences were at Corvallis where disease pressure has been severe the past two years. In Corvallis, given this disease pressure, Bogo yield was 175% that of Stephens.

Even more interesting from a Willamette Valley perspective is that Bogo appears to be resistant to Septoria. Unsprayed plots yield as well as those sprayed with fungicide. Production costs can potentially be reduced with the expectation for equivalent or higher yields than for wheat. However, it is possible that over time strains of Septoria could develop that could attack Bogo and other triticales, hence this advantage may be lost.

What's the downside of Bogo? Bogo is significantly taller than commonly grown winter wheats with a 2-year Corvallis average height of 52 inches versus 42 for Stephens. But we have not observed any lodging to date, even in higher fertility situations. We will experiment with a range of nitrogen fertility rates this year to determine the effect on Bogo yield performance and lodging. These trials will be conducted in Corvallis by Ernie Marx and Russ Karow and by Mylen Bohle (Crook County Crops Agent) and Steve James (Faculty Research Assistant) at the Central Oregon Agricultural Experiment Station.

In 1998 we also tested another Polish triticale named Alzo. A single trial with three replications was conducted in Corvallis. Alzo was about 3 inches taller than Bogo but also yielded 30 bushels more per acre - 169 bu/a versus 139 for Bogo! Alzo also showed no lodging.

Needless to say, yield advantages of these magnitudes have peaked our interest. Bogo has been included in all experiment-station-based variety tests for the coming year. We have purposefully not included it in some grower-field-based trials as volunteer triticale may still be an issue for seed producers (see 1998 Small Grain Seed Standards from the Seed Certification Handbook). However, Bogo and Alzo appear to have heads that are less brittle than older triticales and volunteer may be less of a problem.

Resource Seeds, a California-based seed company that has led US triticale breeding efforts in recent years, is working with the Poles to produce stock seed of their varieties in the US. Small amounts of foundation seed of Bogo, and possibly of Alzo, should be available in fall 1999.

In addition to conducting field trials in 1999, the Extension Cereal Project plans to conduct a dairy feeding trial in cooperation with the Mike Gamroth, OSU Extension Dairy Specialist, and the OSU Dairy Research Center. Results of this trial should be available in spring 2000.

Look for Bogo when you attend experiment station field days this summer. Think about the place a triticale might have in your cropping system. Think about market potentials in your area. Do you have neighbors who may be interested in a feed grain? With the apparent disease tolerance and yield potential of these varieties, possibilities seem many. Triticale anyone?

Table 1. Yield data for Bogo and several other winter grains over locations and years in small plot trials

# Root rotting and Septoria disease pressure was severe.

* Least significant difference for comparisons between the wheats and Bogo (barley in separate trial)