CSU Wheat Breeding Harvest Update: Week of July 20th

As of July 21st, all but one trial at New Raymer remains in the ground in eastern Colorado for CSU wheat. On Monday July 20th, we were able to start and finish cutting the test plots at Dailey. It was a uniform nursery and had consistent yields for each trial. Many of the plots averaged 45 bushel per acre, with some as high as 61 and some that were around 36 bushels per acre. The cooperator for the Dailey site said that they had planted some Byrd that was averaging 87 bushels per acre.

Harvest at Dailey took longer than expected because one of the field computers for the combines was not working correctly and there was no way to fix it without the internet. The luxury of having the computer lets you keep track of moisture and test weight for every plot in the field and saves it for use later. We were able to cut two of the six trials without the computer but it creates more work later because each sample has to be tested for test weight back in Fort Collins the old fashioned way.

The site at Julesburg has been one of the best sites cut this harvest. The site had very good looking, uniform wheat that yielded well. The lowest yielding plot at the site was 48 to 50 bushel wheat and one plot had 107 bushel wheat. Most of the plots had a 60 lbs. test weight or better. Julesburg has been the most consistent nursery this far for the program, a lot of useful data was collected.
Now the last site to harvest is ARDEC in Fort Collins. It is one location but has more trials than any of the locations in eastern Colorado. Without very much rain in the forecast for the next week and a half, the trials will hopefully all be out of the field by the end of the month.

Man on Combine

John Stromberger finishing the Julesburg trials.

empty wheat field

The finished Dailey nursery

2 combine side by side

CSU Wheat’s Winter Steiger Classic next to Anderson Wheat Farm’s John Deere s670

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