In 2019, the University of Vermont Extension’s Northwest Crops and Soils Program evaluated 30 winter wheat varieties to determine those that perform best in organic production systems in northern Vermont. The trial was established at the Borderview Research Farm in Alburgh, Vermont

Darby, Heather

Jean, Haley

Malone, Rory

English

UVM ScholarWorks

University of Vermont UVM ScholarWorks Northwest Crops & Soils Program UVM Extension 2019 Organic Winter Wheat Variety Trial Heather Darby Rory Malone Haley Jean Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.uvm.edu/nwcsp  Part of the Agricultural Economics Commons     2019 Organic Winter Wheat  Variety Trial                       Dr. Heather Darby, UVM Extension Agronomist Rory Malone and Haley Jean UVM Extension Crops and Soils Technicians 802-524-6501  Visit us on the web: http://www.uvm.edu/nwcrops                             © November 2019, University of Vermont Extension  2019 ORGANIC WINTER WHEAT VARIETY TRIAL Dr. Heather Darby, University of Vermont Extension heather.darby[at]uvm.edu  In 2019, the University of Vermont Extension’s Northwest Crops and Soils Program evaluated 30 winter wheat varieties to determine those that perform best in organic production systems in northern Vermont. The trial was established at the Borderview Research Farm in Alburgh, Vermont.   MATERIALS AND METHODS  The winter wheat variety trial was initiated at Borderview Research Farm in Alburgh in the fall of 2018. Plots were managed with practices similar to those used by producers in the surrounding area. Agronomic information is displayed in Table 1. The experimental design was a randomized complete block with four replicates and the previous crop was corn. The field was disked and spike tooth harrowed prior to planting. Plots were seeded in 5’ x 20’ plots with a Great Plains Cone Seeder on 22-Sep 2018 at a seeding rate of 350 live seeds m-2. Thirty varieties were planted (22 modern varieties and 8 heirloom varieties, displayed in Tables 2 and 3), and all but one, Pride of Genesee, survived the winter. Field season data were collected on the 29 surviving varieties. On the 6-May 2019, winter survival was visually assessed on a scale of 0-5 where 0 was complete survival and 5 was complete death. Heights were determined on 30-Jul by taking three measurements per plot with a meter stick.  Table 1. Trial agronomic information, Alburgh, VT 2018-2019.              Table 2. Winter wheat varietal information. Variety Market class† Seed source 112313W HRWW Pioneer Seeds, IA AC Benefit HRWW Bramhill Seeds, Ontario CA AC Morley HRWW Bramhill Seeds, Ontario CA Brome HRWW Semican, Quebec CA Byrd HRWW Arrow Seeds, NE Cedar HRWW Arrow Seeds, NE Trial information Alburgh, VT Borderview Research Farm Soil type Covington silty clay loam, 0 to 3 percent slopes Previous crop Corn Seeding rate 350 live seeds m-2 Row spacing (in) 6 Replicates 4 Planting date 22-Sep 2018 Harvest date 30-Jul, 1-Aug 2019 Harvest area (ft) 5 x 20 Tillage operations Fall plow, disk & spike tooth harrow Emerson HRWW Albert Lea Seed House, MN Expedition HRWW Albert Lea Seed House, MN Grainfield HRWW Arrow Seeds, NE LSC Chrome HRWW Limagrain Cereal Seeds, CO LSC Mint HRWW Limagrain Cereal Seeds, CO LSC Pistol HRWW Limagrain Cereal Seeds, CO LSC T158 HRWW Limagrain Cereal Seeds, CO LSC Wizard HRWW Limagrain Cereal Seeds, CO Marker SRWW Bramhill Seeds, Ontario CA Overland HRWW Arrow Seeds, NE Redeemer HRWW Semican, Quebec CA Redfield HRWW Albert Lea Seed House, MN Sy Sunrise HRWW Arrow Seeds, NE Sy Wolf HRWW Arrow Seeds, NE Warthog HRWW Semican, Quebec CA Winterhawk HRWW Arrow Seeds, NE †HRWW-Hard Red Winter Wheat, SRWW-Soft Red Winter Wheat.  Table 3. Heirloom winter wheat varietal information. Variety Market class† Year Origin Blackhull HRWW 1917 Kansas Blue Jacket HRWW 1946 Kansas Forward SRWW 1920 New York Honor SWWW 1920 New York Pride of Genesee SRWW 1893 New York Red Chief SRWW 1901 New York Turkey Red HRWW 1873 United States Wasatch HRWW 1944 Utah †HRWW-Hard Red Winter Wheat, SRWW-Soft Red Winter Wheat,  SWWW-Soft White Winter Wheat.  Plots were harvested with an Almaco SPC50 small plot combine on 30-Jul 2019 and 1-Aug 2019. The fourth replicate was harvested on 30-Jul and the other replicates were harvested 1-Aug. Many plots were not harvested due to poor winter survival and weed pressure. The harvest area was 5’ x 20’. Grain moisture, test weight, and yield were determined at harvest. Seed was cleaned with a small Clipper M2B cleaner (A.T. Ferrell, Bluffton, IN) and a subsample was collected to determine quality characteristics. Grain quality was determined at UVM Extension’s Northwest Crop and Soils Quality Testing Laboratory (Burlington, Vermont). Samples were ground using the Perten LM3100 Laboratory Mill. Flour was analyzed for protein content using the Perten Inframatic 8600 Flour Analyzer. Most commercial mills target 12-15% protein content. Falling number was measured (AACC Method 56-81B, AACC Intl., 2000) on the Perten FN 1500 Falling Number Machine. The falling number is related to the level of sprout damage in the grain. It is determined by the time it takes, in seconds, for a stirrer to fall through a slurry of flour and water to the bottom of a test-tube. Falling numbers greater than 350 indicate low enzymatic activity and sound quality wheat. A falling number lower than 200 indicates high enzymatic activity and poor quality wheat. Deoxynivalenol (DON), a vomitoxin, was analyzed using Veratox DON 5/5 Quantitative test from the NEOGEN Corp. This test has a detection range of 0.5 to 5 ppm. One sample of each surviving variety was run. Samples with DON values greater than 1 ppm are considered unsuitable for human consumption.  Variations in yield and quality can occur because of variations in genetics, soil, weather, and other growing conditions.  Statistical analysis makes it possible to determine whether a difference among varieties is real or whether it might have occurred due to other variations in the field. Winter survival data were analyzed using a general linear model procedure of SAS (SAS Institute, 2008). Replications were treated as random effects, and treatments were treated as fixed. Mean comparisons were made using the Least Significant Difference (LSD) procedure where the F-test was considered significant, at p<0.10. Due to poor winter survival, statistical analysis could not be performed on harvest and quality parameters. Statistical analysis was only performed on the winter survival data.  RESULTS AND DISCUSSION  Seasonal precipitation and temperature were recorded with an onsite Davis Instruments Vantage Pro2 weather station equipped with a WeatherLink data logger (Table 4). Many of the varieties in the trial were developed in environments much different than the Northeast, so it is important to evaluate the varieties for tolerance to our climate. In the fall and winter of 2018, conditions were cooler than normal. A cooler than average and a wet spring led to only 1,976 Growing Degree Days (GDDs) accumulated April-Jun, which was 208 GDDs below average. Precipitation in April and May was 2.28 inches above average. GDDs ceased to lag behind the 30-year normal in July, which saw higher than average temperatures, less precipitation, and 1285 accumulated GDDs, 91 above the 30-year normal. Overall, precipitation across the entire growing season was 0.15” above average. Conditions provided a total of 3729 GDDs across the entire season from September through July, which was 334 below the normal.        Table 4. Seasonal weather data collected in Alburgh, VT, 2018-2019.    2018 2019 Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Average temperature (°F) 63.4 45.8 32.2 25.4 15.0 18.9 28.3 42.7 53.3 64.3 73.5 Departure from normal 2.76 -2.36 -5.99 -0.55 -3.77 -2.58 -2.79 -2.11 -3.11 -1.46 2.87              Precipitation (inches) 3.48 3.53 4.50 2.96 1.53 1.70 1.36 3.65 4.90 3.06 2.34 Departure from normal -0.16 -0.07 1.38 0.59 -0.52 -0.06 -0.85 0.83 1.45 -0.63 -1.81                         Growing Degree Days (32°-95°F) 941 435 136 72 23 38 108 346 660 970 1285 Departure from normal 86 -78 -115 -8 -26 -18 -58 -68 -99 -41 91 Based on weather data from a Davis Instruments Vantage Pro2 with WeatherLink data logger. Historical averages are for 30 years of     NOAA data (1981-2010) from Burlington, VT.  Overall winter survival was poor (Table 5). Multiple plots were completely dead, reducing the number of replicates for many varieties. The variety Pride of Genesee did not survive the winter.             Table 5. Winter survival by variety, Alburgh, VT, 2019. Variety Survival* (0-5) 112313W 2.50 AC Benefit 2.00 AC Morley 3.50 Black Hul 3.00 Blue Jacket 3.75 Brome 2.75 Byrd 2.00 Cedar 1.50 Emmerson 4.00 Expedition 3.00 Forward 3.25 Grainfield 3.00 Honor 2.75 LCS Chrome 2.50 LCS Mint 2.50 LCS Pistol 3.50 LCS T158 1.50 LCS Wizard 2.75 Marker 3.50 Overland 2.25 Pride of Genesee 4.75 Red Chief 4.50 Redeemer 2.50 Redfield 1.50 Sy Sunrise 1.00 Sy Wolf 4.00 Turkey Red 3.00 Warthog 2.50 Wasatch 3.75 Winterhawk 1.75 LSD (p=0.10) NS Trial Mean 2.83            *Visually assessed on a scale of 0-5 where 0 was complete survival and 5 was complete death.             Top performer is in bold. NS- Not significant.   Due to poor winter survival, not every replicate was harvested, and as a result statistical analysis could not be performed on harvest and quality parameters. Yields were likely depressed due to poor fall growth followed by severe winter conditions and a cool and wet spring. Winter wheat varieties had an average yield of 2815 lbs ac-1 (Table 6, Figure 1) at 13.5% moisture, which was lower than previous years. The top yielding variety was Turkey Red, at 6624 lbs ac-1. Other varieties that yielded above 3000 lbs ac-1 included Brome, Overland, AC Benefit, LCS Mint, Expedition, Byrd, Winterhawk, and LCS Chrome. Honor had the highest average plant height at 116 cm.   Table 6. Yield and quality of winter wheat varieties, Alburgh, VT, 2019. Variety Yield @ 13.5% moisture Average plant height Moisture Test weight Crude protein @ 12% moisture Falling number lbs ac-1 cm % lbs bu-1 % seconds 112313W 2202 64.9 18.0 54.9 8.65 342 AC Benefit 3946 97.7 16.3 60.6 9.65 317 AC Morley 2500 86.2 19.2 55.9 11.0 332 Blackhull 2247 98.3 22.7 50.9 11.2 365 Blue Jacket 2713 106 18.8 41.0 12.3 303 Brome 4038 98.3 20.3 49.6 9.69 332 Byrd 3756 71.7 15.9 58.2 9.35 350 Cedar 2397 58.4 16.3 58.9 9.09 383 Emerson 2535 82.4 20.3 27.6 10.8 309 Expedition 3814 79.8 16.2 57.9 7.51 312 Forward 2249 109 15.4 59.1 8.43 325 Grainfield 2260 69.1 15.1 59.9 8.95 338 Honor 2009 116 18.6 52.6 8.32 329 LSC Chrome 3098 72.2 17.5 58.5 10.0 383 LSC Mint 3885 72.4 16.0 59.7 8.49 355 LSC Pistol 1520 65.5 14.4 59.2 7.45 337 LSC T158 2386 62.6 16.0 59.8 9.61 377 LSC Wizard 2364 63.7 17.6 56.5 10.7 361 Marker 1622 74.0 22.5 49.9 9.92 339 Overland 4013 82.7 16.5 59.6 10.1 377 Red Chief 802 86.0 24.6 46.6 11.5 316 Redeemer 2845 79.2 17.5 56.7 11.2 200 Redfield 2799 67.8 16.6 58.8 10.8 361 Sy Sunrise 2863 66.0 15.9 59.0 9.36 381 Sy Wolf 1754 72.9 21.9 52.9 11.2 332 Turkey Red 6624† 101 19.9 54.6 11.0 351 Warthog 2619 81.1 16.7 58.0 10.3 362 Wasatch 2633 115 17.7 57.0 11.7 364 Winterhawk 3153 77.5 17.1 48.6 8.88 400 Trial Mean 2815 81.9 18.0 54.6 9.9 343          †Top performers are in bold.   Harvest moisture below 14% is desirable for grain storage. Wheat above this moisture content has to be dried down postharvest at additional time and cost to farmers. All varieties had moistures above 14% and required drying before storage. LSC Pistol had the lowest harvest moisture at 14.4%. Test weight is the measure of grain density, which is determined by weighing a known volume of grain. Generally, the heavier the wheat is per bushel, the higher the baking quality. AC Benefit had the highest test weight; 60.6 lbs bu-1.  In 2019, not all of the varieties reached the industry standard for test weight of 56-60 lbs bu-1. AC Morely, 112313W, Turkey Red, Sy Wolf, Honor, Blackhull, Marker, Brome, Winterhawk, Red Chief, Blue Jacket, and Emerson all had test weights below 56 lbs bu-1. Emerson, at 27.6 lbs bu-1, was the only variety to have a test weight below 40 lbs bu-1.   Figure 1. Yield and crude protein of winter wheat varieties, Alburgh, VT, 2019.   Average CP concentration for the trial was 9.9%.  None of the varieties had crude protein levels above the industry minimum of 14% (Figure 1). Falling numbers for all varieties, except Redeemer, were above 300 seconds, and all varieties met or surpassed the standard of 200 seconds which indicates sound wheat quality (Table 6). Winterhawk had the highest falling number; 400 seconds. One replicate per variety was tested for deoxynivalenol (DON) vomitoxin, and all were below the FDA threshold of 1 ppm which is considered safe for human consumption (data not shown).    ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS  This project was supported by the Organic Research and Extension Initiative (project no. 2015-51300-24153) from the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture. The UVM Extension Northwest Crops and Soils Team would like to thank Roger Rainville and the staff at Borderview Research Farm. We would also like to acknowledge John Bruce, Catherine Davidson, Hillary Emick, Ivy Luke, Lindsey Ruhl, and Sara Ziegler for their assistance with data collection and entry.  This information is presented with the understanding that no product discrimination is intended and neither endorsement of any product mentioned, nor criticism of unnamed products, is implied.  UVM Extension helps individuals and communities put research-based knowledge to work.                                                                        Issued in furtherance of Cooperative Extension work, Acts of May 8 and June 30, 1914, in cooperation with the United States Department of Agriculture. University of Vermont Extension, Burlington, Vermont, University of Vermont Extension, and U.S. Department of Agriculture, cooperating, offer education and employment to everyone without regard to race, color, national origin, gender, religion, age, disability, political beliefs, sexual orientation, and marital or familial status. 0.002.004.006.008.0010.0012.0014.0001000200030004000500060007000Crude Protein at 12% moistureYield at 13.5% moisture (lbs bu-1)Yield Crude protein    

Organic Winter Wheat Variety Trial

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Organic Winter Wheat Variety Trial

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