SOUTH DAKOTA
SOUTH DAKOTA STATE UNIVERSITY
Plant Science and Biology/Microbiology Departments and USDA-ARS Northern Grain Insect Research Laboratory (NGIRL), Brookings, SD 57007 USA.http://triticum.sdstate.edu
Personnel changes.
Dr. Louis Hesler, a research entomologist, joined the research staff
with the Northern Grain Insects Research Laboratory, USDA-ARS, in Brookings.
Dr. Hesler's research focuses on the management of cereal aphids and other
pests of small grain crops. He has been at the laboratory since August,
1997. Dr. Hesler served 4 years as a Medical Entomologist in the U.S. Army
and 2 years as a Postdoctoral Research Entomologist at the insect laboratory
in Brookings. He obtained his doctorate in entomology from the University
of California at Davis and his master's degree in entomology from Texas
A&M University.
Winter wheat breeding and genetics.
S.D. Haley, S.A. Kalsbeck, R.S. Little, F. Hakizimana, Z. Zhang, and A. Bagci.
Personnel. In October 1997, Mr. Richard Little joined the winter wheat breeding program as a Senior Research Assistant responsible for coordination of the hard white winter wheat breeding project.
Crop Report. Winter wheat production in South Dakota in 1997 was
estimated at 31.5 million bushels from 1.05 million harvested acres (1.65
million planted acres), for an average of 30.0 bu/A. This yield level was
17 % less than that of the 1996 crop and significantly less than the averages
of both the previous 5-year (12 % less) and 10-year (6 % less) periods.
The low total production in 1997 (the lowest since the drought-year of 1988)
was attributed primarily to a high level of acreage loss (36 %, compared
to 15 % over the previous 5- and 10-year periods) resulting from above average
levels of winterkill throughout the winter wheat production area.
Several interrelated factors contributed to the high level of crop abandonment
throughout the state. Excessive rainfall in mid-September (beginning around
17 September) either hindered timely planting for some producers or resulted
in poor emergence and fall stand establishment in those fields that were
sown deep prior to the onset of the rains. Most of the critical crop reporting
districts recorded rainfall amounts from 2-4 inches above normal for the
month of September. Soil conditions were suitable for planting until 1 October.
Autumn growth also was curtailed by a series of ice storms in early- to
mid-November coupled with overall below-normal temperatures during November
and December (as much as 10°F below normal for both months). One of
the most critical periods for the winter wheat occurred in early- to mid-January
when a series of severe storms blew off the snow cover and, especially in
conventional summer-fallow plantings, exposed the crop to subzero temperatures.
The final blow for the winter wheat crop occurred in early April (6-11 April)
when ambient air temperatures reached lows in the single digits. Cool temperatures
into May hindered recovery of the damaged wheat.
In addition to crop losses during the winter, tan spot and leaf rust also were significant adverse factors for production throughout the state. The first occurrence of leaf rust was much earlier than usual (late June), and the severity of infection became quite high, particularly in susceptible varieties. Although other diseases and insects have not been major problems over the last few years (most notably stem rust and wheat streak mosaic virus), breeding efforts to address these problems will not be discontinued.
Breeding program testing sites. The winter wheat breeding program conducted testing at eight sites throughout South Dakota in 1997. These testing sites included Aurora/Brookings (Brookings Co.); Watertown (Codington Co.); Highmore (Hyde Co.); Selby (Walworth Co.); Winner (Tripp Co.); and Wall (Pennington Co.); and both irrigated and dryland environments at the Dakota Lakes Research Farm east of Pierre (Hughes Co.). In addition to these testing environments, collaborative testing of the South Dakota Advanced Yield Trial (AYT) was done at Hettinger, ND (in collaboration with Dr. Eric Eriksmoen, NDSU Extension Agronomist) and Hemingford, NE (in collaboration with Dr. P. Stephen Baenziger, University of Nebraska Wheat Breeder).
As it was for producers, the 1997 crop year was a very difficult year for the breeding program. Several sites were lost to a variety of conditions. The Watertown nurseries were lost because of near-complete winterkill. At Wall, nurseries also were abandoned because of winterkill. The Selby nurseries were mowed flat by a hail storm at heading. At Dakota Lakes (in both the dryland and irrigated plots), winterkill followed by a Canada goose infestation caused significant, nonuniform stand damage throughout the nurseries.
The irrigated nursery at the Dakota Lakes has been shifted toward a dryland nursery planted into heavy spring wheat stubble following the increasing practice of using a protective cover winter wheat planting in South Dakota. This rotational practice (spring wheat followed by winter wheat, then at least 2 years out of wheat) is becoming increasingly popular in South Dakota. The addition of this testing site at Dakota Lakes should present a solid complement to the nursery conducted under similar conditions at Winner. We fully expect that the use of this type of environment will enhance our capability to improve leaf spotting resistance (tan spot and Septoria) and also anticipate some coincidental improvement in tolerance to root rot disease organisms.
Cultivar releases and foundation seed increases. Two new experimental lines from the SDSU Winter Wheat Breeding Program were released to seed producers by the SD Agricultural Experiment Station for planting in autumn 1997. Aside from Nekota (1994) and several other cooperative releases with the University of Nebraska, these new varieties represent the first winter wheat cultivars released from SDSU since the release of 'the Barbershop Quartet' (Rose, Dawn, Rita, and Nell) in 1980-81.
The first of these new releases, Tandem, is an awned, white-glumed, medium-maturity, standard-height HRWW with excellent end-use quality characteristics and good yield performance in its maturity range. Targeted as a complement to Arapahoe (and other medium-maturity wheats), the name Tandem was chosen to highlight the combination of superior end-use quality in a yield-competitive agronomic package. Tandem was selected (as an F5 derived line in the F6 generation) from the cross 'Brule / Agate', made in 1983 by Dr. Jeffrey L. Gellner. Tandem was identified (as experimental line SD89119) in 1989 and has been tested in the South Dakota Crop Performance Testing (CPT) Variety Trial since 1993 and the Northern Regional Performance Nursery (NRPN) from 199395. In 5 years of statewide testing in the South Dakota, CPT (199397; 46 environments), Tandem (3,494 kg/ha) yielded less than Arapahoe (3,628 kg/ha) but more than other cultivars in its maturity range, including Niobrara (3,427 kg/ha), Siouxland (3,360 kg/ha), and Dawn (3,225 kg/ha). In western and northern South Dakota CPT environments (18 environments), Tandem (3,830 kg/ha) was the highest yielding entry, exceeding Alliance (3,763 kg/ha), Arapahoe, Seward (3,695 kg/ha), and Nekota (3,628 kg/ha).
Tandem possesses several traits characteristic of excellent milling and baking performance. Over 5 years of testing in the South Dakota CPT, Tandem (781 kg/m3) exhibited very high and stable test weight characteristics with slightly lower test weight than Rose (782 kg/m3) but higher test weight than Roughrider (777 kg/m3), Scout 66 (775 kg/m3), and Arapahoe (762 kg/m3). Composite milling and baking data (provided by the USDA-ARS Hard Winter Wheat Quality Laboratory, Manhattan, KS) from the Northern Regional Performance Nursery (1993-95) and the South Dakota Advanced Yield Trial (1994-96) identified Tandem as a wheat with very large uniform kernels with high kernel weight, very low flour ash, excellent flour extraction, and high overall milling scores. Baking tests from these nurseries identified Tandem as a wheat with high flour protein content, high water absorption with average mixing time, good mixing tolerance, and good loaf volume. Crumb grain characteristics from experimental and commercial baking tests have been rated as good. In South Dakota, Tandem is a medium-maturity wheat, heading 2 d earlier than Roughrider, similar to Arapahoe, and 3 d later than Nekota. Plant height of Tandem is medium, 8 cm shorter than Roughrider, 3 cm taller than Arapahoe, and 10 cm taller than Nekota. Tandem is moderately resistant to the prevalent races of the stem rust pathogen (data provided by USDA-ARS Cereal Rust Laboratory, St. Paul, MN, and the South Dakota State University Small Grains Pathology Program), susceptible to leaf rust, tan spot, Septoria leaf blotch, and WSMV. Tandem is heterogeneous for resistance to the Great Plains biotype of Hessian fly (data provided by USDA-ARS Plant Science and Entomology Research Unit, Manhattan, KS). The coleoptile length of Tandem is very long (94 % that of Scout 66), and the straw strength is medium (better than Scout 66, similar to Roughrider and Arapahoe). Available data suggest that the winter hardiness of Tandem is good.
The second of the new releases for autumn 1997, Crimson, is an awned, red-glumed, medium-late maturity, standard-height HRWW with good end-use quality characteristics and superior yield performance in its maturity range. Targeted as a replacement for both Rose and Seward, the name Crimson was chosen to highlight its red chaff color, a trait in South Dakota most commonly associated with Rose winter wheat. Crimson was selected (as an F5-derived line in the F6 generation) from the cross 'TAM 105 / Winoka', made in 1983 by Dr. Jeffrey L. Gellner. Crimson was identified (as experimental line SD89153) in 1989 and has been tested in the South Dakota Crops Performance Testing (CPT) Variety Trial since 1994 and the Northern Regional Performance Nursery from 1994-96. In 4 years of statewide testing in the South Dakota CPT (1994-97; 32 environments), Crimson (3,494 kg/ha) was higher yielding than available cultivars in its maturity range, including Rose (3,360 kg/ha), Seward (3,292 kg/ha), and Roughrider (3,091 kg/ha). Over these same testing environments, Crimson (793 kg/m3) exhibited very high and stable test weight characteristics with higher test weight than any other entry tested, including Rose (788 kg/m3), Roughrider (781 kg/m3), Arapahoe (766 kg/m3), and Seward (757 kg/m3).
In addition to its high test weight, Crimson has above-average end-use quality characteristics. Composite milling and baking data (provided by the USDA-ARS Hard Winter Wheat Quality Laboratory, Manhattan, KS) from the Northern Regional Performance Nursery (1994-96) and the South Dakota Advanced Yield Trial (1994-96) identified Crimson as a wheat with medium-sized kernels with average kernel weight, average flour ash and flour extraction, and high kernel hardness scores. Baking tests from these nurseries identified Crimson as a wheat with high flour protein content, high water absorption, average mixing time, average mixing tolerance, and good loaf volume. Crumb grain characteristics from experimental and commercial baking tests have been rated as good. In South Dakota, Crimson is a medium-late maturity wheat, heading 5 d earlier than Seward, 1 d earlier than Roughrider, similar to Rose, 1 d later than Arapahoe, and 4 d later than Nekota. Plant height of Crimson is medium-tall, 8 cm shorter than Seward, 5 cm shorter than Roughrider, similar to Rose, 5 cm taller than Arapahoe, and 13 cm taller than Nekota. Crimson is moderately resistant to prevalent races of the stem rust pathogen (data provided by USDA-ARS Cereal Rust Laboratory, St. Paul, MN, and the South Dakota State University Small Grains Pathology Program), and is susceptible to leaf rust. Crimson is resistant to South Dakota isolates of the Septoria leaf blotch pathogen in greenhouse seedling screening tests and has shown good leaf spotting scores in field nurseries. Greenhouse seedling screening tests with South Dakota isolates of WSMV suggest a moderate level of resistance. Crimson is susceptible to the Great Plains biotype of Hessian fly (data provided by USDA-ARS Plant Science and Entomology Research Unit, Manhattan, KS). The coleoptile length of Crimson is very long (98 % that of Scout 66), and the straw strength is good (slightly better than Rose). Available data suggest that the winter hardiness of Crimson is good.
Three advanced experimental lines are under preliminary foundation seed increase (4-6 acres), for earliest possible release in autumn 1999. These lines are as follows:
SD92107 is currently in its third year of statewide (SD Crops Performance Testing) and regional (NRPN) testing and its second year of testing in the WQC small-scale testing program. SD92107 (pedigree: Brule//Bennett/Chisholm/3/Arapahoe) is a medium-tall and medium-late maturity (1-2 days later than Arapahoe in SD) HRWW with very good winter hardiness, an average-length coleoptile, good straw strength, good test weight and protein characteristics, and superior yield performance in its maturity range. SD92107 possesses a very broad disease resistance package being resistant or moderately resistant to stem rust, leaf rust, WSMV, and leaf spotting diseases (tan spot and Septoria leaf blotch).
SD93267 is currently in its second year of statewide (SD CPT) and regional (NRPN) testing and its first year of testing in the WQC small-scale testing program. SD93267 (pedigree: Shield/Roughrider//SD76598-7/Agassiz) is a medium-tall (similar to Scout 66) HRWW that combines very good winter hardiness with early maturity in SD environments. SD93267 has above average test weight and average protein content. SD93267 possesses a very long coleoptile (similar to that of Scout 66) and average straw strength and is resistant or moderately resistant to stem rust and WSMV.
SD93380 is currently in its second year of statewide (SD CPT)
and regional (NRPN) testing and its first year of testing in the WQC small-scale
testing program. SD93380 (pedigree : TX80A-5901-1/NE78488) is a medium-height
and medium-maturity (similar to Arapahoe) HRWW with very good winter hardiness,
a short coleoptile (similar to that of Arapahoe), and average test weight
and protein characteristics. SD93380 is resistant or moderately resistant
to stem rust, leaf rust, and WSMV.
Research support projects.
Coleoptile length. Mr. Frederick Hakizimana completed his M.S. thesis research on various aspects of coleoptile length in winter wheat. Results provided clear evidence that seed source has little effect on repeatability or consistency of the coleoptile length testing procedure, a finding with very practical implications for our screening procedures. A simultaneous survey of Great Plains wheat germplasm sources for semidwarf genes and coleoptile length also documented the distribution of conventional semidwarfing genes among the various breeding programs, provided evidence for the presence of less-utilized genes among the germplasm base, and identified semidwarf breeding lines with significantly longer coleoptiles than most semidwarf breeding materials.
Wheat streak mosaic virus. In collaboration with Dr. Marie Langham (SDSU Virologist), Mr. Frederick Hakizimana has continued with Ph.D. research to examine the association between our current greenhouse WSMV screening procedures and a blast-inoculated field evaluation where yield and yield component reduction (of infected treatments relative to controls) are used as the bases for evaluation. Although our greenhouse screening procedures appear to be relatively consistent, results from the first of 2 years of field research were somewhat puzzling, because infected subtreatments in the field design (verified with ELISA techniques) showed very little symptomology relative to adjacent control treatments. Although symptomology was difficult to establish in the first year of the study (in contrast to previous field evaluations), yield and its components were significantly reduced relative to the control treatments. As part of this overall effort, we also are working with Dr. Langham to determine the optimum time for field inoculation.
Leaf spotting diseases. Ms. Xiuling Zhang, a graduate student
working on winter wheat breeding with Dr. Yue Jin, is nearing completion
of her M.S. thesis research on development of routine, greenhouse, screening
procedures with seedlings and adult-plants for both tan spot and Septoria
leaf blotch. Ms. Zhang also has developed a diallel set of crosses to
examine combining ability of several promising sources of resistance.
Wheat end-use quality. Mr. Ahmet Bagci, a graduate student from Turkey,
has been investigating the adaptation of the computerized mixograph for
our routine quality-screening procedures. The focus of Mr. Bagci's thesis
research is to determine which parameters from the computerized output,
which includes 46 different variables, are most useful in predicting overall
baking quality. Using mixograph data from field nursery seed samples, Mr.
Bagci has begun to explore data analyis through various multivariate procedures.
Dormant seeding. In response to recent interest in planting winter
wheat following soybean, a planting date-rate study was initiated in autumn
1996 and continued with planting in the autumn of 1997. The overall objective
of this research is to try to provide objective information to producers
regarding variety selection and optimum seeding rates in late-planted (or
even dormant seeded) situations.
World Wide Web (WWW) home page. In May 1996, a home page for the
winter wheat breeding and genetics program was launched on the Internet's
World Wide Web. On this page, visitors can learn about the program and the
people working within it and also gain access to such information as: current
winter wheat variety trial data; annual reports (like this one); data from
current screening activities; and links to other wheat-related information
resources on the Internet. As time allows, we will continue to update the
page with information of interest to winter wheat producers in South Dakota.
The URL (Internet address) for the home page is: http://triticum.sdstate.edu.
Soil fertility and production research.
H. J. Woodard, A. Bly, and D. Winther.
Effects of timing of late-season foliar N applications on growth, grain yield, and grain protein of hard red winter and spring wheat cultivars. Two HRWW cultivars (Redland and Rose) and two HRSW cultivars (Butte-86 and Sharp) were no-till planted into standing residue at Aurora SD. Nitrogen fertilizer as 28-0-0 was broadcast surface applied at 73-90 lbs/A. The treatment comparisons were a control with no foliar N and foliar N applied at spikelet formation (Feeke's stage 5.0), at late boot stage (Feeke's stage 10.0), and postanthesis (Feeke's stage 10.53). The foliar N application consisted of 30 lbs/A N, which was applied as a 1:1 solution of 28-0-0 (UAN):water and sprayed at a rate of 20 gpa with a commercial sprayer protected with a hood to prevent drift. Treatment plots were randomized within each of four replications. Wheat was harvested with a small plot combine. Grain samples were used to measure grain test weight, protein, and yield. Treatments were compared statistically by SAS.
Cultivar significantly influenced HRWW grain protein content and grain yield. Grain protein also was increased significantly when foliar N was applied. However, timing of the foliar N application did not influence grain protein content, soft dough dry matter, and grain test weight. Grain yield was increased slightly with the spikelet and boot stage applications but decreased at the postanthesis stage. Grain yield decreased in Redland when foliar N was applied but increased in the cultivar Rose.
Cultivar significantly influenced HRSW grain yield but not soft dough
dry weight, grain test weight, or protein. Cultivar differences were expected
because of genetic variation but were somewhat overshadowed by dry summer
growing conditions. Kernel weight but not grain protein content was increased
significantly with boot stage foliar N application when compared to the
other foliar stages of the foliar N application. The grain yield of Butte-86
decreased with foliar N application when applied at all growth stages. Precipitation
was lower than normal, decreasing yield potential; therefore, the influence
of foliar N was minimal.
Wheat entomology.
L.S. Hesler and W.E. Riedell (USDA-ARS, Northern Grain Insects Research Lab).
Coöperative studies between scientists from the SDSU Ag Experiment Station and the USDA Agricultural Research Service continued during 1997. An intrinsic rate of increase study to screen various wheat germplasm sources resistant to greenbug and RWA for resistance to bird cherry oat aphids was conducted. Results of this experiment indicated that bird cherry-oat aphids reared on wheat variety MV4 have one of the highest developmental times, the lowest number of nymphs produced per plant, and lowest intrinsic rate of aphid population increase and confirmed that wheat cultivar MV4 is the most resistant to the bird cherry-oat aphid of all the germplasm studied. Results also suggested that greenbug-resistant TAM 110 and RWA-resistant STARS-9303W have some inherent bird cherry-oat aphid resistance factors. Hydroxamic acid analysis, using a photometric method suitable for use in a wide-scale breeding program, revealed no close correlation between shoot tissue hydroxamic acid level and resistance to bird cherry-oat aphids. Research is underway to refine a screening protocol based upon wheat germplasm morphological response to bird cherry-oat aphids.
Coöperative studies between scientists from the University of Nebraska,
South Dakota State University, and USDA-ARS in Brookings were conducted
to determine if spectral analysis of light reflected from wheat crop canopies
could be used to detect greenbug and Russian wheat aphid outbreaks. The
objective of this greenhouse study was to identify reflected light wavelengths
that are most sensitive for detection of wheat feeding damage caused by
these aphid pests. Wheat plants in the 2-leaf development stage were infested
with four wingless adult Russian wheat aphids or greenbugs. Plants and aphid
populations were allowed to grow for 3 weeks, after which leaf-reflected
radiation (from the adaxial leaf surface over a 350- to 1075-nm range),
leaf dry weight, leaf area, and leaf chlorophyll concentrations were measured.
Greenbug feeding damage, which was more intense on the older plant leaves,
killed the oldest (first) leaves and dramatically lowered the chlorophyll
concentration of the second and third leaves. Russian wheat aphid feeding
damage, which was more intense on younger leaves, was characterized by reductions
in leaf dry weight, area, and chlorophyll concentration in the third and
forth leaves. Preliminary results suggest that the spectral reflectances
of the leaf chlorosis induced by the two aphid species were very similar.
Publication.
Riedell WE, Blackmer TM, Taylor S, and Hesler LS. 1998. Leaf reflectance spectra of aphid damaged wheat. In: Proc Entomol Soc Amer, North Central Branch 53rd Annual Meeting, Sioux Falls, SD. 8-11March, 1998. p. 15 (abstract).
Spring wheat breeding.
J.C. Rudd, B.G. Farber, Y. Jin, R. Rudd, and R. Devkota.
Production.