Wheat Variety Fall Forage Yield Comparison for 2022-23

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Fall forage yield is an important aspect of dual-purpose wheat production. In this system, wheat is typically sown earlier than for grain only production, at higher seeding rates and with additional nitrogen fertilizer to maximize forage production.

The weather experienced during the fall is crucial to determine average level of forage yield, with warm and moist weather typically resulting in greater forage yield than cool and dry weather conditions. Management practices that also maximize forage yield are early sowing, higher seeding rates, placement of in-furrow phosphorus fertilizer with the seed at sowing, and fall nitrogen fertilization.

While the weather is typically the largest player in determining fall forage production, followed by management, there are also differences among wheat varieties in forage production potential. Every year, the K-State Wheat Production Group compares the forage yield of several commonly grown wheat varieties and upcoming lines. This test is usually performed in the South Central Experimental  Field near Hutchinson, Kansas (Figure 1), and the forage sampling occurs sometime during December (Table 1).

At the sampling conducted late December 2022, there were significant differences among varieties in terms of forage accumulation. Average forage yield was extremely low (354 lb dry matter (DM)/a) and with a narrow range (from 213 to 679 lb DM/a). The varieties that exhibited the highest forage yield were Guardian and KS Ahearn (Table 1). The remaining varieties produced statistically less forage than these two. The extremely low forage yield was mostly function of limited rainfall availability, as the trial received enough precipitation for proper emergence but almost null precipitation subsequently between emergence and forage measurement (Figure 1).
 

Figure 1. Dual-purpose wheat trial near Hutchinson, KS. The trial was sown on mid-September 2022, with 50 lbs DAP/acre applied in furrow. Weeds were controlled the week prior to sample collection thus control is still incipient in the photo above. Photo was taken late November 2022.


Table 1. Fall forage yield of wheat varieties sown under dual-purpose system near Hutchinson, KS. Forage biomass was collected on late December 2022. Data is shown in pounds of dry matter per acre (lbs DM/ac). There were significant statistical differences among varieties at the 5% probability level. Varieties are listed in alphabetical order and the bold highlight indicate highest forage yielding group.

Variety

lb DM/a

AM Cartwright

330

AP EverRock

244

AP Prolific

459

AP Roadrunner

213

AP18 AX

304

ARMOR EXP55

314

ARMOR EXP6_AX

384

CP7017 AX

283

CP7050 AX

351

CP7266 AX

335

CP7869

403

CP7909

304

Guardian

679

Kivari AX

375

KS Ahearn

489

KS Hatchett

314

KS Providence

333

LCS Atomic AX

436

LCS Galloway AX

440

LCS Steel AX

286

LCS19DH-152-6

234

Whistler

274

Average

354

Minimum

213

Maximum

679

 

Another important aspect of dual-purpose wheat production is how long each variety can be grazed in the spring. This is measured as the date for first hollow stem, and varieties can differ in as much as 20-30 days in achieving first hollow stem in the spring. The Wheat Production Group at K-State uses this very same trial to measure first hollow stem during late February and early March, so stay tuned for more information to come.

 

Romulo Lollato, Extension Wheat and Forages Specialist
lollato@ksu.edu  

Mariana Mota, Visiting Scholar

Luiz Otavio Pradella, MS student


Tags:  wheat fall forage dual purpose yield results yield