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 or 255-8092
E-Mail: mes12@cornell.edu
Web Page: http://128.253.183.20/
To: Persons interested in the performance of
small grains varieties in New York.
Enclosed are the results of our 1999 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. Summaries and information about
the Cornell Small Grains Breeding and Genetics Project are
maintained on our web page listed above.
Our small grains breeding program continues its ninety
year tradition of plant breeding research and variety and
germplasm development. I wish to recognize the contributions
of David Benscher and Douglas Valenta to our project and
thank them for their dedication.
Sincerely,
Mark E. Sorrells
Professor of Plant Breeding
Testing Procedures:
In 1999, the Soft White Winter Wheat, 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 were grown in 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 based on the nearest 8-plot mean. If
the coefficient of variation was reduced and the variance due to
genotypes was the same or increased, those adjusted means
were used for the summary. All trials are fertilized according to
soil test recommendations for small grains. Winter grains
generally receive a top dress of 38 kg/h (34 lbs/a) of actual N in
the spring.
The winter grains trials were planted between September 20
and September 30 and the spring grains were planted on April
8, and 20 near Ithaca, April 14 in Monroe County and April 29th
in Seneca County. In March, precipitation was well above
normal but drought conditions prevailed for the rest of the
season. Soil moisture was adequate for germination and
emergence of spring grains. Above normal temperatures late in
the growing season exacerbated the dry growing conditions.
The dry conditions favored high yields for winter wheat but
severely reduced spring grains yields. Normal temperatures
and below normal precipitation at harvest was beneficial for
avoiding preharvest sprouting damage.
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. This year,
test sites were generously provided by Dick Compton,
McCollum Farms, Hugh Dudley and Bill and Penny Eastman.
Without their support we would not be able to provide
accurate, unbiased test results. Extension specialist Nate
Harendeen has been instrumental in arranging test sites, field
days, and information distribution. Also, we thank Drs. Gary C.
Bergstrom, William J. Cox, and William D. Pardee, extension
faculty in the Departments of Plant Pathology, Crops and Soil
Sciences , and Plant Breeding for their excellent cooperation and
support.