Amarillo, Texas
July 31, 2008
2008 may have been a bad year for
wheat, but it was a good year to test different varieties for
drought tolerance and disease resistance, said a
Texas AgriLife
Extension Service specialist.
To identify the best-performing varieties for this region,
AgriLife Extension annually conducts variety trials throughout
the High Plains, said Dr. Brent Bean, agronomist. Partial
funding for these trials is provided by the Texas Wheat
Producers Board through grower check-off funds.
Two varieties stood out in the performance trials, Bean said.
TAM 112 and Hatcher had the highest yields when averaged across
six irrigated locations. They averaged 59 and 57 bushels per
acre, respectively, and were consistent performers, ranking in
the top 25 percent in five of the six locations.
Irrigated variety trials were located at Perryton, Bushland,
Etter, and in Dallam County, Castro County and Gaines County.
TAM 112 is greenbug tolerant and has some tolerance to wheat
streak mosaic, he said. Hatcher was released by Colorado State
in 2005 and has moderate resistance to stripe rust and good
drought tolerance. Endurance finished in the top 25 percent in
four of the six locations, and when averaged across trials
yielded 55 bushels per acre, Bean said. Other varieties of note
that finished in the top 25 percent in three of the six
locations were Jagalene, TAM 304, TAM 203, TAM 110, Keota and
Jackpot.
TAM 111, which has performed very well in the previous three
years, held its own, averaging 54 bushels per acre across
locations and finishing in the top 25 percent in two of six
locations. Dumas has been a main irrigated wheat variety for
several years but yielded 3 bushels per acre less than the
average across all locations.
The Texas A&M System experimental line TX02A252 yielded in the
top 25 percent in four of the locations and should be watched in
the future, Bean said. Danby, a white wheat, also yielded well
in all trials.
“We were unable to report several of our dryland locations due
to extremely poor yields and high variability within a test,” he
said. Of the three trials reported, exceptional yields were
obtained at Canadian, Bean said. This location is next to the
Oklahoma border where timely rains were received. The Bushland
and Claude sites reported low yields, averaging 12.5 and 9
bushels per acre, respectively. The conditions made drawing any
conclusions suspect, he said. However, TAM 304, TAM 112, Fuller,
TAM 110, Bullet, Duster, TAM 111, Endurance, T81 and Jackpot
were the top yielding and most consistent varieties across
locations. Bean made some variety recommendations based on those
that have consistently performed well over at least a three-year
period. Those varieties that perform well under full irrigation
also tend be the same varieties that yield well under dryland.
“In our environment, even those varieties grown under full
irrigation are going to be subject to heat stress and likely
some periods of drought,” he said.
“Although TAM 111 did not stand head and shoulders above the
competition like it has in previous years, it should still be
considered on most farms in the Panhandle,” Bean said. “It has
been a consistent high performer.”
Other recommendations by Bean include:
- TAM 112 is an excellent
choice for limited irrigated or dryland.
- TAM 304 was released in
2007 by the Texas A&M System and is being marketed by Scott
Seed Co. of Hereford. It has good leaf and stripe rust
resistance.
- Hatcher has now been
tested for three years in AgriLife Extension trials. In
those three years it has finished in the top 25 percent in
eight of 19 irrigated trials and eight of 12 dryland trials.
- Fuller has now finished in
the top 25 percent in 10 of 12 dryland trials making it the
most consistent dryland variety over the last three years.
- Endurance is a good
irrigated choice for the producer who also wants to graze
his wheat.
- T81 seems to do best in
those very dry years.
- Dumas still makes the list
under full irrigation. It has very good straw strength and
relatively good resistance to stripe rust and can be a good
grazing wheat. Use Dumas where yields are going to be pushed
by maximizing both fertilizer and irrigation use.
“As is always the case, I strongly
recommend planting more than one variety on any given farm,”
Bean said.
Yield data from previous years, variety descriptions, two- and
three-year averages by location, and other information can be
found at the following Web site under
http://amarillo.tamu.edu/programs/agronomy
|
|
