- Author: Michelle Leinfelder-Miles
Stand counts were made approximately two weeks after planting. The stand was assessed in the center two rows of each four-row plot, counting the plants along a 10-foot length. Bloom was assessed over the week of July 16th. While planting occurred on the same day as in 2017, the days to bloom was 68 in 2018, averaged across varieties, compared to 65 in 2017. This amounts to an approximate accumulation of 1230 growing degree days (GDD) in both years. In general, the temperatures were lower in 2018 compared to 2017. Over the course of the season, there were four days above 100⁰F, compared to a total of 14 days over 100⁰F during the 2017 season. (Temperature data is from the neighboring Staten Island CIMIS station.)
We monitored disease incidence and plant lodging in late September. Disease incidence, particularly Fusarium ear rot, was higher in 2018 compared to the two previous years. A sign of Fusarium ear rot is white fungal mycelium around the kernels. The disease is usually introduced to the ears by corn earworm or by thrips that travel down the corn silks at pollination. Incidence may be reduced in varieties with longer husks that prevent insect infestations. Planting earlier in the season may also reduce incidence, as the crop may reach pollination before insect pests are prevalent. Seed company representatives have indicated that Fusarium ear rot incidence was high in other parts of the state as well.
The table presents mean values for the three replicates. The statistical method used to compare the means is called the Tukey's range test. Varieties were considered statistically different if their P value was less than 0.05, or 5 percent. What this means is that when differences between varieties exist, we are 95% certain that the two varieties are actually different; the results are not due to random chance. Differences between varieties are indicated by different letters following the mean. For example, a variety that has only the letter “a” after the mean yield value is different from a variety that is followed by only the letter “b”, but it is not different from a variety whose mean value is followed by both letters (“ab”). Similarly, a variety whose mean yield is followed by the letters “ab” is not different from a variety whose mean yield is followed by the letters “bc”. Eleven varieties have a letter “a” following their mean yield, which means that those eleven varieties all performed similarly in the trial. In other words, based on this research, we cannot attribute numerical differences to varietal differences. The variety that had the lowest yield in the trial also had the lowest stand count. This may have been the result of the planter settings. Seed inventory records indicate that a standard bag of this variety weighed 54 pounds for 80,000 seeds; whereas, bags of other varieties weighed 39 to 44 pounds for 80,000 seeds. This larger-sized seed may not have dropped consistently from the planter in order to achieve the desired plant stand. Growers should contact the seed company with further questions.
Across varieties, there were also statistical differences in stand count, days to bloom, Fusarium ear rot, head smut, ear height, grain moisture, and bushel weight. The CV, or coefficient of variation, is the standard deviation divided by the mean, or a measure of variability in relation to the mean. For the diseases, the variability among the three replicates was very high.
Special thanks go to the cooperating growers, Steve and Gary Mello, and the participating seed companies. A printable version of these results is available from my website.
Table 1. 2018 UCCE Field Corn Variety Trial Results
Results for each variety are expressed as the average across three replications.
* Data were transformed for analysis. Arithmetic means are presented.
‡ Yield adjusted to 15% moisture.
† Larger seed size and planter settings may have caused lower stand and yield. Contact company representative for more information.
- Author: Michelle Leinfelder-Miles
- Author: Mark Lundy
The Delta trial was on a Rindge muck soil, characterized by over 20 percent organic matter in the top foot of soil. Approximately 56,000 acres in the Delta have the Rindge classification (USDA-NRCS). Over the course of the season, the site received approximately 11.5 inches of rain, and the site was not otherwise irrigated. (Precipitation data is from the Staten Island CIMIS station.) The previous crop in the field was triticale during the 2016-17 season.
The results from the 2017-18 Delta trial are summarized in table form for wheat and triticale. The top-yielding wheat varieties were WB 7566 (4.6 tons/ac; 11.7% protein), LCS 12SB0224 (4.5 tons/ac; 11.6% protein), and UC Patwin 515 (4.2 tons/ac; 12.9% protein), and the top-yielding triticale varieties were WB Pacheco (5.9 tons/ac; 11.1% protein), NS Trical 115T (5.2 tons/ac; 9.3% protein), and NS Trical 158EP (4.8 tons/ac; 9.6% protein). Of note, there was volunteer triticale from the previous year that grew in the plot. We ended up only harvesting one replicate (of four) where we rogued the triticale by hand.
Since environmental conditions vary from location to location and year to year, we advise making variety decisions based on aggregated data. For example, the Delta trial had very wet conditions in 2016-17 when California received record-setting rainfall. While conditions in 2017-18 were closer to “normal”, we still suggest reviewing three-year summaries when making variety decisions. The results for the Delta tend to align better with those from the Sacramento Valley compared to the San Joaquin Valley. Thus, the Delta results are incorporated into the three-year summaries for the Sacramento Valley, available for wheat and triticale.
Over the past two years, the UC Davis team has developed web tools that allow us to view some of the trial data in a more interactive way. There are two websites – one with the multi-year summary data and another that summarizes each trial individually. We suggest using these interactive tools on a computer, rather than a phone.
Please let us know if you have questions about the trials or the web tools.
- Author: Michelle Leinfelder-Miles
Agenda:
10:00am Field corn variety evaluation – preliminary results, Michelle Leinfelder-Miles, UCCE, SJC/Delta
10:15am Variety traits for the Delta, Seed company representatives
10:30am N stabilizer product trial in silage corn, Michelle Leinfelder-Miles, UCCE, SJC/Delta
10:45am Measuring the interaction between N demand and water use in irrigated corn, Taylor Becker and Mark Lundy, UC Davis
11:00am Viewing of field plots
2018-10-18 Corn Field Meeting Agenda
- Author: Michelle Leinfelder-Miles
Mark your calendar with these upcoming meetings brought to you by UC Cooperative Extension, USDA-NRCS, and the California Rice Experiment Station. See the links or attached flyer for more information.
1. UCCE Rice Production Workshop
Tuesday, August 7, 2018
8:30am - 3:00pm (lunch included with registration)
5311 Midway, Richvale, CA 95974
Registration is required. Visit http://ucanr.edu/rice2018 to register, or see this post for more information.)
2. USDA-NRCS Warm Season Cover Crops Field Day
Wednesday, August 22, 2018
10:00am-12:00pm
Lockeford Plant Materials Center, 21001 N. Elliott Rd., Lockeford, CA 95237
No registration required. See agenda in the attachment (below).
3. UC Davis Dry Bean Field Day
Thursday, August 23, 2018
10:00am-12:00pm
UC Davis Agronomy Farm: Take Hutchison Dr. approximately 1.5 miles west from Hwy 113, in Davis. Turn south on Hopkins Lane, and then take the first left turn (heading east) onto a gravel/broken pavement road with a row of olive trees; park along the fence. The field is located north of the Bee Biology Center.
4. Rice Experiment Station Annual Field Day
Wednesday, August 29, 2018
7:30am-12pm (lunch included)
Rice Experiment Station, 955 Butte City Hwy, Biggs, CA 95917
No registration required. For more information, visit http://www.crrf.org/.
4. UCCE Alfalfa and Forage Field Day
Wednesday, September 19, 2018
7:30am-12:30pm (lunch included)
Kearney Agricultural Research and Extension Center, 9240 S. Riverbend Ave., Parlier, CA 93648
More information will be forthcoming.
NRCS Warm Season Cover Crops Field Day Flyer
- Author: Michelle Leinfelder-Miles
I sent plant samples to the UC Davis Plant Pathology Diagnostics lab for confirmation on disease. Rather than Rhizoctonia, the lab identified Fusarium oxysporum on all of the plant tissue submitted. While Fusarium oxysporum is the causal agent of Fusarium wilt (a.k.a. Fusarium yellows), the symptoms on these plants indicated root and crown rot, and NOT yellows. Fusarium root rot is common on other beans; however, it has not been a common problem in California limas. For this particular field, its cropping history has been various vegetables for the last couple years, including tomatoes with a severe Fusarium problem in 2016. Rotating out of beans or vegetables to grains would be a good management strategy for future years because Fusarium can live in the soil for several years. Fungicide seed treatments may also help. In this particular case, we talked about managing water well to try to avoid moisture stress (too much or too little) of the current crop to optimize the crop that is there. The grower and PCA assured me that they can manage the moisture well with the drip irrigation on this soil type. For future bean planting, waiting until soil temperature is warmer and not planting as deep would also be important strategies.