WHEAT PERFORMANCE IN ILLINOIS TRIALS - 2002

Crop Sciences Special Report 2002-01

July 2002

 

Emerson D. Nafziger, Darin K. Joos, and Ralph W. Esgar

Department of Crop Sciences, University of Illinois, Urbana

 

There was widespread rainfall in early October, 2001, and as a result, the 2002 wheat crop was planted slightly later than normal, and often under wetter than ideal soil conditions. Planted acreage fell again, to 680,000 from 800,000 acres the previous year. This occurred despite the fact that both yields (statewide average of 60 bushels per acre) and quality in 2001 were very good, and doublecrop soybeans also performed quite well. The problem, of course, is that wheat prices continued to lag, making it difficult for producers to see wheat as a crop with high profit potential. Wet fall weather further contributed to the decline in acres.

 

The winter of 2001-02 was relatively mild, and even though wheat got a rather slow start in the fall, it came through the winter well, having produced some additional growth and tillers before cold weather ended. The spring weather was not very favorable, however. It was rainy and cool through much of March, April, and May, with most wheat fields saturated at points during the spring, resulting in standing water damage, loss of nitrogen, and uneven growth. The main disease problem in most areas was barley yellow dwarf virus (BYDV), which was spread by aphids, in the fall or in the spring, or perhaps in both seasons. This disease caused uneven, ragged-looking growth in susceptible varieties, especially where the disease occurred along with injury from saturated soils. Despite wet conditions, there were not serious problem with leaf and head diseases in most fields, probably due to cool temperatures and low inoculant loads. The weather in late May and early June turned warm and dry, resulting in rapid fill. As a result, test weights were good, but yields, responding to the very wet soil conditions in the spring, averaged only 50 bushels per acre, down 10 bushels from 2001.

 

Plots in these variety trials were seeded at the rate of 36 seeds per square foot, and consisted of six 7.5-inch rows trimmed to about 16 feet long before harvest. There were three replications. Yields were corrected to 13.5% moisture. As there were few diseases to rate, we did not take systematic ratings at any of the locations. Unfortunately, the trial at Brownstown was so badly damaged by standing water that we decided it would impossible to get useful data from it, and so we abandoned it.

                                                                                                                                                                                  

Location                      Cooperators                 Soil type          Planted            N fertilizer        Harvest

 

Dixon Springs                Steve Ebelhar                Grantsburg        Oct. 21             40 Fall              June 19

Ron Hines                     silt loam                                    75 Spring         

 

Belleville                        Ed Varsa                       Ebbert               Oct. 21             40 Fall              June 20

Ron Krausz                   silt loam                                    70 Spring

 

Brownstown                   Adam Anderson             Cisne                Oct. 9               40 Fall              Not harvested

Lindell Deal                   silt loam                                    70 Spring

 

Orr Center                     Glenn Raines                 Herrick              Oct. 3               40 Fall              July 1

Mike Vose                     silt loam                                    60 Spring

 

Urbana                          Bob Dunker                   Flanagan           Oct. 4               40 Fall              July 2

Mike Kleiss                   silt loam                                    60 Spring

 

DeKalb                          Lyle Paul                       Drummer           Sept. 27            40 Fall              July 10

Dave Lindgren                silty clay loam                           60 Spring

 

In this report:

 

Page 2             Addresses and phone numbers of companies with varieties in the trials.

Page 3-4          Regional yields - Southern Region and Northern Region

Pages 5-10      Yields, including 2- and 3-year averages, from the five trial locations in 2002.

Pages 11-12    Varietal characteristics of varieties for sale in Illinois.

 

 

 

 

Participating Companies

 

 

Following is a list of addresses and phone numbers of companies that entered wheat varieties in the 2002 University of Illinois trials reported in this publication. We thank these companies for their support of this program, which is designed as a neutral comparison of all wheat varieties available for production in Illinois.

 

 

AgriPro Seeds, Inc.                                          Lewis Hybrids, Inc.

Box 411 East 8^th St                                          P.O. Box 38

Brookston In 47923                                         Ursa, IL 62376

(765) 572-2001                                               (217) 964-2131

 

Baker Seed Co.                                               Miles Seed                                          

610 W. Seminary                                             P.O. Box 22879

West Salem, IL 62476                          Owensboro, KY 42304

(618) 456-8851                                               (270) 926-2420

                                                                       

Beck’s Hybrids                                                 Pioneer Hi-Bred Int’l.

6767 E. 276^th St.                                              14171 Carole Drive,

Atlanta, IN 46031                                             Bloomington, IL 61704

(317) 984-3508                                               (309) 821-9940

 

DeRaedt Seeds, Inc.                                        Royster-Clark, Inc.

10 N 971 Tower Road                                      70 N. Market St

Hampshire, IL 60140                                        Mt. Sterling, OH 43143

(847) 464-5553                                               (740) 869-2181

 

Diener Seeds, Inc.                                           Steyer Seeds

371 N. Diener Rd.                                            6154N Co Rd 33

Reynolds, IN 47980                                         Tiffin, OH 44883

(219) 984-5837                                               (419) 992-4570

 

Excel Brand Seeds                                          Syngenta Seeds, Inc.

Box 320                                                           P.O. Box 1240

Camp Point, IL 62320                                      Winterville, NC 28590

(217) 593-7707                                               (252) 746-3004

 

Gateway Seed Co.                                           UAP Richter Co.

5517 Van Buren Rd.                                        P.O. Box 230

Nashville, IL 62263                                          Pittsfield, IL 62363

(618) 327-8000                                               (800) 533-8309

 

Green Valley Seed                                          Wilken Seed Grains, Inc.

P.O. Box 35                                                     P.O. Box 770

Kahoka, MO 63445                                          Pontiac, IL 61764

(816) 727-3341                                               (815) 844-3458

 

GROWMARK, Inc.                                           

1701 Towanda Ave.                                        

Bloomington, IL 61701                        

(309) 557-6399