Spring wheat at low-rainfall sites near Echo and Moro during 1996, 1997 & 1998

Spring wheat yields at low-rainfall sites near Echo and Moro during 1996, 1997 & 1998

Trial was conducted by Dick Smiley, Columbia Basin Agricultural Research Center

The tables below contain yield summaries for spring wheat planted at Echo (Mader/Rust Farm) and at Moro. These are annual wheat, minimum-till experiments. These trials were planted with a John Deere HZ drill with openers at 14-inch spacings. Root diseases are prominent at both sites, including Rhizoctonia root rot, take-all, and Fusarium foot rot. The Echo site also is affected by Hessian fly and barley yellow dwarf virus. Test weights were almost always 60 lb/bu or higher at both sites.

Echo: Minimum-till annual spring wheat; the 5th, 6th and 7th years were harvested in 1996, 1997 and 1998. The plot area was tilled once with a shallow (3-inch deep) sweep following each harvest, and was otherwise handled as "no-till". For comparison, winter wheat varieties in an adjacent WW/fallow rotation yielded 40-77 bu/ac in 1998; Stephens yielded 69 bu/ac and was boosted to 77 bu/ac when treated with Gaucho.

Variety and Class		Echo (Buttercreek Area)			2-yr mean*
Variety and Class		1996	1997	1998**	rank	yield
Alpowa	SW	23.5	27.9		12	25.7
Calorwa	club	25.7	29.0		7	27.4
Centennial	SW	24.5	31.6		6	28.1
Dirkwin	SW	28.3	33.1		3	30.7
ID 377S	HW	25.7	28.9	24.4	8	26.3
Klasic	HW	24.5	26.9		12	25.7
Nomad	HR	24.9	26.7		11	25.8
Penawawa	SW	30.8	28.9		4	29.9
Pomerelle	SW	27.2	30.2		5	28.7
Spillman	HR	27.7	26.8		8	27.3
Sprite	SW	28.6	25.8		9	27.2
Treasure	SW	31.4	32.2		1	31.8
Vanna	SW	30.5	31.2	25.6	2	29.1
Wawawai	SW	24.9	29.6		8	27.3
Westbred 906	HR	24.9	26.1		13	25.5
Westbred 926	HR	26.4	25.2		11	25.8
Westbred 936	HR	23.9	26.1	16.9	14	22.3
Whitebird	SW	25.7	30.5		6	28.1
WPB 881	durum	21.3	19.9		15	20.6
Yecora Rojo	HR	23.7	29.3		10	26.5
mean		26.2	28.3	22.3		27.0
P>F		0.15	<0.01	<0.01		<0.01
LSD (P<0.05)		ns	5.4	1.8		2.6

*Rankings include duplicate entries (more than one #8, etc.) for entries with equal yield.

**Management trials in 1998 had 3 varieties and were not included in means averaged for each location.. Seed treatments did not boost yields. Starter fertilizer below seed boosted yields at Echo and Moro 3.2 and 6.8 bu/ac, respectively

Moro: Spring wheat in 1996 followed winter wheat harvested in 1994 and fallowed in 1995. The variety trial area was cropped annually thereafter, and was tilled between crops. Winter wheat yields were 50-86 bu/ac in nearby experiments during 1998; Stephens was 86 bu/ac. The management trial during 1998 was direct drilled into standing winter wheat stubble.

Variety and Class		Moro (Experiment Station)				3-yr mean*
Variety and Class		1996	1997	1998	1998**	rank	yield
Alpowa	SW	50.7	37.6	41.4		6	43.2
Calorwa	club	48.7	31.9	36.3		14	39.0
Centennial	SW	45.5	39.0	39.3		11	41.3
Dirkwin	SW	45.7	42.8	46.9		1	45.1
ID 377S	HW	43.3	40.7	42.6	35.7	8	42.2
Klasic	HW	38.7	26.1	35.5		20	33.4
Nomad	HR	47.1	30.6	42.1		12	39.9
Penawawa	SW	46.5	35.4	37.0		13	39.6
Pomerelle	SW	41.4	45.1	44.2		4	43.6
Spillman	HR	44.4	30.5	40.3		15	38.4
Sprite	SW	45.5	32.9	35.0		16	37.8
Treasure	SW	47.1	41.6	44.3		2	44.3
Vanna	SW	51.0	40.5	39.9	36.8	3	43.8
Wawawai	SW	44.8	37.4	47.6		5	43.3
Westbred 906	HR	48.6	30.9	44.6		10	41.4
Westbred 926	HR	48.9	31.8	48.0		7	42.9
Westbred 936	HR	48.0	32.1	44.5	32.0	9	41.5
Whitebird	SW	43.3	33.9	35.1		17	37.4
WPB 881	durum	44.6	26.7	33.8		19	35.0
Yecora Rojo	HR	48.5	23.3	35.4		18	35.7
mean		46.1	34.5	40.7	34.8		40.4
P>F		<0.01	<0.01	<0.01	<0.01		<0.01
LSD (P<0.05)		4.6	4.3	5.7	1.8		3.5

*Rankings include duplicate entries (more than one #8, etc.) for entries with equal yield. Management trials () in 1998 had 3 varieties and were not included in means averaged for each location.