COMMENTS ON GROWING CONDITIONS Most cooperators furnished brief descriptions of growing conditions and they are summarized here and in Table 1-A and Table 1, Uniform Regional Durum Wheat Nursery, to aid in data interpretation. Minnesota Planting date was one-two weeks later than normal at the three locations. Harvesting delayed at Crookston due to heavy rain. St. Paul - Precipitation was above normal, especially during June, which allowed the leaf necrosis diseases to develop very well. Crookston - Growing season was dryer than normal from April to June. Morris - Cool wet June favored leaf necrosis diseases and scab. North Dakota Langdon - Soil moisture was adequate for spring planting, but below normal rainfall during June. This drought stress caused the plants to lose tillers and mature rapidly. Dickinson - Exceptionally heavy fall precipitation and good seasonal precipitation provided ample soil water for excellent crop growth and development. Generally, cool temperature prevailed throughout the growing season. Williston - Higher than normal rainfall accompanied by normal temperature resulted in above average yields. Wheat yields of 40 and 50 bushels per acre were not unusual. Fargo - Disease development of scab and bacterial leaf blight was good. It was a good year to differentiate the entries for lodging resistance. Carrington - Approximately four inches of water applied at each of the three different stages of wheat development, 5-leaf, boot to heading, and soft dough. South Dakota and Montana Little information received; however, planting and harvesting dates were normal. Yield levels seem to indicate a relatively normal year to above normal year. CONCLUSION Other Spring Wheat: Production of other spring wheat totaled 417 million bushels (11.4 million metric tons) compared with last year's 419 million bushels (11.4 million metric tons). Growers harvested 13.9 million acres (5.63 million hectares), 6 percent less than last year's 14.8 million acres (5.98 million hectares). Yields averaged 30.0 bushels per harvested acre compared with 28.4 last year and were the second highest of record. Growers seeded 14.3 million acres (5.77 million hectares), down 9 percent from a year earlier. Seeding was delayed by wet weather in the major northern States, and a significant acreage was seeded after June 1. The crop developed slower than last year but maintained good condition in most areas. Wild oats in North Dakota. Hessian fly in South Dakota and dry weather in Idaho appeared as problems during early summer but generally favorable conditions prevailed for maturing the crop. Harvesting started in South Dakota in late July, much later than normal. High temperatures during August pushed harvesting to near normal progress. In the Pacific Northwest, rains during September delayed harvest and caused some sprout damage to grain remaining in the field. By October 1. Montana and Idaho growers still had 10 percent of the crop to harvest, while Washington and Oregon producers were nearing completion. Durum Wheat: There were - 133 million bushels (3.63 million metric tons) of durum wheat produced in 1978. 67 percent more than last year's 80.0 million bushels (2.18 million metric tons) and about 1.5 million bushels less than the record high 1976 crop. There were 4.02 million acres harvested (1.63 million hectares) compared with 3.03 million acres (1.22 million hectares) last year. Yields averaged a record high 33.1 bushels per acre, up 6.7 bushels from last year and 3.7 bushels greater than the 1976 yield. Seeding of the 4.11 million acres (1.66 million hectares) was delayed in northern States by wet weather, but by late June the crop was progressing well although behind normal. Harvesting got underway in northern areas later than normal but dryer weather during late August aided progress. In Arizona, harvest was past the peak by early July but grain lodged in some areas giving lower yields. Rain in mid- to late-September delayed the finish of harvest in extreme northern areas.