Writers: Brent Bean and Pam Dillard, (806) 359-5401, p-dillard@tamu.edu
Contact: Brent Bean, (806) 359-5401, b-bean@tamu.edu
AMARILLO — Scientists and economists will be assessing this year’s wheat growing season for years, according to Dr. Brent Bean, Extension Service agronomist of Amarillo. Final production figures resulting from the significant lack of moisture are still being tallied.
“We’ve just experienced the most severe drought on record,” Bean said.
The rainfall received last September provided enough moisture for most producers to plant — then the lack of precipitation severely reduced the yield potential of all dryland wheat.
“In some fields, 100 percent of the wheat stand died during the year because of the drought,” said Bean, who specializes in soil and crop science.
Irrigated wheat fared better with top yields being reported for some fields. Bean added, however, those high yields come at a price. Irrigation requirements rise dramatically in dry seasons.
“We see strong evidence of the drought’s impact in the field, especially when results from previous years are compared to this one,” the expert said.
Producers who were able to meet the higher demands of irrigated production this year have been rewarded with good yields and a good price for their efforts, Bean said.
Another factor was the hard freeze on March 7, which caused considerable damage to many Panhandle wheat fields. Bean suggested that poor yields, even in wheat fields adequately irrigated, can be generally traced back to the hard freeze.
On the benefits side, insect problems were far less important this year in wheat. In most cases, Russian wheat aphids and greenbugs were not significant. The brown wheat mite, generally a dry-weather pest, did reach levels that warranted control. Disease outbreaks were virtually nonexistant.
“Wheat varieties are being tested which may help lessen the impact of dry growing seasons,” he said.
Scientists have been reviewing 1996 variety trials. The best performers under dryland conditions at the Bushland Texas Agricultural Experiment Station were Tam 101, Tam 105, Tam 107, Tam 109, Tam 200, and Larned.
Under irrigation, Tam 105, Tam 107, Tam 200, Ogallala, AP7510, AP7501, and 2137 all yielded above 80 bushels an acre, Bean noted. Two varieties, AP7510 and AP7501 are hybrid wheats. A new release, 2137 is from breeders at Kansas State University.
“Included in trials over the last four years, Tam 105 appears to be the variety to beat under dryland conditions,” Bean said. This variety’s 4-year average yield was four bushels higher than its closest rival, Tam 200.
The 4-year average shows Tam 200 and Ogallala have been the top performing varieties with average yields of 100 and 99 bushels an acre, respectively.
Another new variety, Tam 110, scheduled for release this year by Texas Foundation Seed, will be very similar in characteristics to Tam 107. The one exception being added Biotype E greenbug resistance.
“We believe this new variety shows promise and adds to the arsenal available to producers, even when growing conditions are less than ideal,” Bean said.
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