NDSU variety trial results and guides available for certain crops

The 2023 North Dakota State University Variety Trial Results and Selection Guides for Hard Red Spring Wheat (A574), Durum Wheat (A1067), and Barley-Oat-Rye (A1049) are now available online and in print. These guides can be accessed online at ndsu.ag/varietytrials23 .

Printed copies are available through your NDSU Extension county office or nearest NDSU Research Extension Center (REC).

“These guides are an important source of information for farmers and agronomists because they provide an unbiased comparison of commercially available varieties that are widely grown in North Dakota,” says Clair Keene, NDSU Extension agronomist for small grains and corn. “Every year, our Research Extension Centers and small grain breeders collaborate on these variety trials to determine how different cultivars perform in different regions of the state.”

“The trials were interesting this year with high yields at the Hettinger REC in the southwest due to the best in-season rainfall in the last five years,” Keene said. “But unusually, the Langdon REC in the northeast was much drier than normal and yields showed the effect of drought. The strength of this program is the fact that we have sites across North Dakota and they capture the same variation in weather that our farmers deal with.”

When making a variety selection, Keene advises that growers look at the two- and three-year data from multiple locations and not just the current year yield from a single site.

“Taking into consideration variety performance over multiple years and within a region, rather than a single site, gives you a more reliable assessment of how that variety is likely to perform on your farm,” adds Keene.

In the spring wheat book, Keene recommends growers look at Table 6 and see where their favored varieties rank in terms of quality. The Wheat Quality Index was first incorporated in the Spring Wheat selection guide in 2021. It is a ranking based on a weighted average of scores for flour and dough quality characteristics that spring wheat buyers desire.

“We recommend that growers pick varieties that yield well in their areas, but also encourage them to consider having a portion of their crop with high Wheat Quality Index ratings,” says Keene. “Picking varieties with higher quality helps ensure good protein in the crop and maintains hard red spring wheat as a premium market class.”