2002 Kansas Performance Tests with Alfalfa Varieties

The Kansas Agricultural Experiment Station established an official alfalfa performance testing program in 1980 to provide Kansas growers with unbiased performance comparisons on alfalfa varieties marketed in the state. Each year, private companies are asked to enter varieties voluntarily at the locations slated for establishment that year. Descriptive information is presented with the results for each test. This information, including soil type, establishment methods, fertilization, pest control, irrigation, harvest dates, and growing conditions unique to that location, can help explain test and/or variety performance. Forage yields were estimated by harvesting four replications of each variety with a plot harvester

2004 Kansas Performance Tests with Winter Wheat Varieties

The Kansas Agricultural Experiment Station annually compares both new and currently grown varieties in the state’s major crop-producing areas. These performance tests generate unbiased performance information designed to help Kansas growers select wheat varieties suited for their area and conditions

2000 Kansas Performance Tests with Alfalfa Varieties

The Kansas Agricultural Experiment Station established an official alfalfa performance testing program in 1980 to provide Kansas growers with unbiased performance comparisons on alfalfa varieties marketed in the state. Each year, private companies are asked to enter varieties voluntarily at the locations slated for establishment that year. Descriptive information is presented with the results for each test. This information, including soil type, establishment methods, fertilization, pest control, irrigation, harvest dates, and growing conditions unique to that location, can help explain test and/or variety performance. Forage yields were estimated by harvesting four replications of each variety with a plot harvester

2001 Kansas Performance Tests with Summer Annual Forages

This publication presents the results of tests designed to compare forage production and quality of corn, sorghum, and sorghum-sudan hybrids. Samples from each harvest were collected to determine moisture content and for laboratory analysis of forage quality

Effect of Defoliation at Different Stages on Grain Sorghum Yield and Yield Components

Loss of leaf area usually results in yield loss in grain crops, but the amount of yield loss varies with extent and timing of defoliation. Grass crops, such as corn and grain sorghum, are particularly sensitive to leaf area loss near the time of seed set because there is little opportunity for the plant to compensate. An experiment to quantify yield reductions associated with various levels of defoliation imposed at different stages of grain sorghum development was conducted at Manhattan, KS, in 2023. Target defoliations of 0, 33, 66, and 100% were imposed at 5-leaf, flag leaf appearance, half bloom, and hard dough stages. Defoliation of 5-leaf sorghum resulted in minimal yield loss unless the defoliation rate was 100%, which delayed heading, increased heads per plant, and reduced head size. Leaf area losses approaching 100% at the hard dough stage caused minimal yield reductions in a year with high temperatures and minimal rainfall during grain fill. Yield reductions were greatest when leaf area was lost at flag leaf appearance or half bloom. Leaf area loss of 60% or greater caused yield losses of 40% to 70%. These yield losses were associated with different combinations of reductions in head size and seed size depending on timing of leaf loss

Crop Production and Soil Properties Impacts of Integrating Annual Forages and Ruminant Livestock into Wheat-based Cropping Systems

Integrating annual forages and ruminant livestock to intensify dryland cropping systems can increase profitability, increase water use efficiency, and improve soil health. The objective of this study was to determine the crop yield and soil property impacts of intensifying traditional no-till winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)-grain sorghum (Sorghum bicolor Moench)-fallow (WW-GS-F) with annual forages as well as integrating livestock to graze forages and crop residues. This study was initiated in 2021 at the Kansas State University Agricultural Research Center-Hays in Hays, KS. Treatments were WW-GS-F (control), WW-GS-F with grain sorghum residues grazed, winter wheat/forage sorghum-forage sorghum-fallow (WW/FS-FS-F) with forage sorghum grazed, and WW/FS-FS-F with forage sorghum hayed. The treatments were replicated four times with all phases of the rotation present each year. Grain and forage yields were determined every year with sampling to characterize soil properties in fall 2023. Results showed that full-season forage sorghum harvested for hay produced 5,994 lb/a on average, while post-wheat forage sorghum harvested for hay produced 1,682 lb/a. Before grazing, full-season forage sorghum produced 9,735 lb/a with about 51% of biomass remaining as residue after livestock were removed. On average, post-wheat forage sorghum produced 2,988 lb/a before grazing. Because of smaller yields, post-wheat forage sorghum plots were grazed only in one year when 82% of biomass remained as residue on the plots after livestock were removed. In 2023, WW yields were low due to dry weather, but there was no difference among treatments and average was 15 bu/a. The WW/FS-FS-F (grazed) treatment had greater crop residue cover (77%) at winter wheat planting than all other treatments (53%) in fall 2023. No differences in bulk density or penetration resistance in the 0 to 2-inch and 2 to 6-inch soil depths were observed across treatments. Despite no differences in bulk soil organic carbon (SOC) in the 0 to 2-inch and 2 to 6-inch soil depths, dry aggregate associated SOC was greater with WW-GS-F (grazed) and WW/FS-FS-F (grazed) treatments than WW-GS-F and WW/FS-FS-F (hayed). No differences in mean weight diameter (MWD) of water stable aggregates or the wind-erodible fraction were observed across treatments. These preliminary results suggest that intensifying the WW-GS-F rotation with annual forages and integrating livestock increased available forage, soil residue cover, and dry aggregate associated organic carbon with no effect on winter wheat yields