from Mark Sorrells, Feb 1996
 
 CORNELL    New York State College of Agriculture & Life Science
 UNIVERSITY   Department of Plant Breeding & Biometry
 
 252 Emerson Hall, Ithaca, N.Y.  14853-1902
 Fax (Dept.):  (607) 255-6683
 Telephone:  (607) 255-1665
 E-Mail:  Mark_Sorrells@qmrelay.mail.cornell.edu
 
 To:  Persons interested in the performance of small grains varieties 
      in New York.
 
 Enclosed are the results of our 1995 small grains regional trials and the
 cumulative summaries over years.  Because the rankings of the varieties and
 lines often change from year to year, only the multiple year summaries should
 be considered to be useful indicators of varietal performance in this region.
 Reproduction of any table in this report must include the entire table unless
 we approve the editing.  The information herein is provided with the
 understanding that no discrimination is intended and no endorsement by
 Cornell University or its employees is implied.
 
 Your comments and suggestions concerning this report are welcome.  If you
 would like additional information or do not wish to receive this report in
 the future, feel free to call or write.
 
 Sincerely,
 
 Mark E. Sorrells
 Professor of Plant Breeding
 
 
 
 Testing Procedures:
 
 In 1995, the Soft White Winter Wheat, Soft Red Winter Wheat and the Spring
 Oat regional trials were grown in four locations while the Spring Barley
 regionals were grown in three locations.  The wheat and oat trials near
 Ithaca consisted of 2 replicates while those out in the state consisted of 3
 replicates.  All spring barley trials had 3 replicates.  All trial plots are
 6 row plots 4 meters long with 18 cm between rows.  Prior to harvest, the
 plots are trimmed to 3 meters and harvested with a plot combine.  Disease and
 lodging notes were recorded on a 0 to 9 scale with 0 being the best and 9 the
 poorest.  All trials are planted in a randomized complete block design and
 analyzed by standard ANOVA.  If there are indications of within replicate
 field variation a second ANOVA using a nearest-neighbor adjustment is
 computed.  If the coefficient of variation is significantly reduced, those
 adjusted means are used for the summary.
 
 Temperature and Precipitation - Ithaca Area:
                                
 The winter grains trials were planted between 9/19 and 10/3 and the spring
 grains were planted between 4/17 and 4/28.  For April through July, the
 Ithaca area was 5 inches below normal rainfall and 1 degree above average
 temperature.  The 6 month period starting in March was the driest such period
 on record (over 100 years).  The below normal precipitation and above normal
 temperatures severely reduced yields of spring grains.
 
 Acknowledgments:
 
 Our testing program depends on being able to test new varieties in the areas
 where they will be grown under actual farming conditions.  We gratefully
 acknowledge the farmers who have provided us with a test site for our
 regional trials.  Without their support we would not be able to provide
 accurate, unbiased test results.  Also, we thank Nate Harendeen and Jim
 Capron for their excellent cooperation and support over the years.