Manhattan, Kansas
September 23, 2008
Blends of two to three wheat
varieties have become increasingly popular over the past 10
years in Kansas, according to recent wheat variety acreage
reports from Kansas Agricultural Statistics.
That´s not surprising to Kansas State University agronomist Jim
Shroyer. Blends have some advantages in many situations, he
said.
"Blends can offer producers some yield stability in most cases,"
said Shroyer, who is a crop production specialist with
Kansas State University
Research and Extension. "While any one variety may do much
better or worse than other varieties in the same vicinity,
having a blend of two or three varieties can usually even out
those ups and downs. This reduces the chances of having a
landlord upset because the variety planted on his or her land
yielded considerably less than other fields in the area."
Blends have some disadvantages, as well, he added.
"Blends are unlikely to result in the highest yields possible in
any given year," Shroyer said. "And blends do not provide the
same level of management flexibility as a pure variety."
The K-State 2007-08 Wheat Variety Performance Test included
several blends. In most cases, the yield of the blend was close
to the average yield of the components in the blend. The
interesting factor to look at is the range of yields among the
components, he said.
"A good example is Brown County in 2008," he noted. "The blend
of Overley, Post Rock, and Santa Fe, yielded 49. The average of
each of those three varieties grown separately is 50. But the
range of yields is 43 (Overley) to 53 (Post Rock and Santa Fe).
There´s no way to know for sure ahead of time which of those
three varieties would do best last season. If a producer had
grown just Overley, the yield would have been 6 bushels less
than the yield of the blend."
This illustrates the primary value of planting a blend. A blend
takes some of the guesswork out of selecting varieties, he
explained.
For complete details on the 2008 K-State Wheat Performance Test
results, see:
http://kscroptests.agron.ksu.edu/pdf/2008Wheat.pdf.
|
Tips
for making a good wheat variety blend |
To be effective in stabilizing yield potential,
careful consideration should be given to which wheat
varieties to use when making a blend, said Jim
Shroyer, K-State Research and Extension crop
production specialist.
Shroyer shared some basic principles:
- Use varieties
with different types of disease resistance. This
is probably the single most important factor to
consider when choosing a blend.
- Use varieties
with a difference in maturity of no more than
three to five days. If producers can spread out
the maturity a bit, there is a better chance
that at least one of the varieties can benefit
from a given weather pattern. For example, a
later-maturing variety might be able to take
better advantage of a late rain than an
early-maturing variety. Spreading maturities may
require some compromises, however. If the
earlier-maturing variety in the blend has a
tendency to shatter (such as Jagger), the
producer should be willing to harvest the field
as soon as the early variety component in the
blend is ready - which means the producer will
have to be willing to take a moisture discount
at times. If the earlier variety component in
the blend has good shattering tolerance, then
the producer can wait until the later variety
component is fully dried down before harvesting.
- Use varieties
with different levels of winterhardiness and
spring greenup tendencies. If there are
high-yielding varieties available, but which
have poor winterhardiness or a tendency to break
dormancy early in the spring, blend them with
varieties that have better winterhardiness
or stronger spring dormancy.
- Use varieties
that yield well. Do not include a low-yielding
variety just for the sake of genetic diversity.
|
K-State Research and Extension
is a short name for the Kansas State University Agricultural
Experiment Station and Cooperative Extension Service, a program
designed to generate and distribute useful knowledge for the
well-being of Kansans. Supported by county, state, federal and
private funds, the program has county Extension offices,
experiment fields, area Extension offices and regional research
centers statewide. Its headquarters is on the K-State campus,
Manhattan. |
|
