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"It
takes a heap o' livin' in a house t' make it home... Afore it's
home there's got t' be a heap o' livin' in it..."
—Edgar A. Guest
To
paraphrase the poet, it takes a heap o' growin' to find homes for
the wheat varieties bred by Washington State University scientists.
Arranging for that growing, documenting, and analyzing is the job
of Extension Agronomist John Burns, who heads the WSU Extension
Variety Testing Program.
Wheat
is grown on about 2.4 million acres in Washington. But, one variety
doesn't fit all those acres. Far from it. Washington's wheat-growing
region is composed of a myriad of microclimates, each affecting
wheat production differently. Burns says they fall into three basic
groups, low, intermediate, and high precipitation zones.
Through its Variety Testing Program, the university grows more than
150 varieties and research lines of wheat and barley on 28 grower-cooperator
farms and two university owned farms. Tests include about 20 commercial
varieties, including proprietary ones owned by commercial companies.
Although WSU scientists have been breeding wheat varieties for more
than a century, the current testing program is only a little over
30 years old. It was launched by the late Kenneth Morrison.
It
allows scientists to compare how a given variety or research line
performs in up to 30 different microclimates, as well as to evaluate
it against other varieties and lines.
One
of the many strengths of the Variety Testing Program is uniformity
and randomization. For example, nurseries at all locations are seeded
with the same source of seed and at equivalent seeding densities
in statistically designed randomized plots with the same seeding
equipment. This is highly important in a region with such varied
microclimates and soil types.
For
instance, as the crow flies, northern Asotin County and southern
Whitman County wheat fields are a scant 10 miles apart; but, they
represent opposite extremes in climate. |
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| John
Burns, WSU extension agronomist (left) and Valoria Loveland,
state agriculture director, discuss wheat research with
Jim White, a Colfax farmer, at WSU's Spillman Farm. |
Anatone
farmers grow one crop of wheat every other year on 7‚14 inches
of annual precipitation. Farmers south of Uniontown grow a crop
every year on 20‚24 inches of moisture.
The
number of varieties and experimental lines needing testing in
the field also have grown over the years. Burns estimates the
number of varieties being tested have grown at least 50 percent.
Test results are reported both to scientists and the wheat industry.
WSU scientists use the information to guide their breeding programs
farmers to help decide which varieties to plant.
Data
are posted at http://variety.
wsu.edu/. Data also are reported directly to the
wheat industry at field days, and through such publications
as "The
Green Sheet" and "Wheat Life," published by the
Washington Association of Wheat Growers. The Variety Testing
Program also maintains a
Memorandum of Understanding with the Washington Crop Improvement
Association to provide all information for winter and spring "Seed
Buying Guides" used by agribusiness and farmers to compare
differences among commercial varieties when making variety
planting decisions.
A 1999 study reveals just how valuable the testing program is.
"Using the previous 21 years of Variety Testing Program data showed
that selecting the highest yielding winter wheat variety in all
possible contiguous three-year periods resulted in a yield increase
of 5 bushels per acre over the average of other varieties at each
location," said Burns.
He
conservatively estimates a 2-bushels-per-acre increased yield
across Washington's 2.4 million acres of wheat, with an average
price of $3.50 per bushel, resulted in an economic impact of more
than $16 million in 2003.
Terence
L. Day
Information Department |
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