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Vol. 17, No. 2
Article 7 of 10
February 20, 2007
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Additions to the University of Missouri Variety Testing Program
Website By Bill Wiebold Variety selection is among the most important decisions a farmer makes. Yield potential and the ability of the variety's genetics to protect that yield potential from pests and stresses are directly related to profitability. Although several variety characteristics are important to consider, each variety selection should be centered on yield. Selection for yield is more diffi cult than it sounds. Weather, soil and other environmental factors greatly affect yield. I recommend using multiple sources of information about varieties. The best sources of information are welldesigned, replicated tests conducted by unbiased groups or organizations. The MU Variety Testing Program (MUVT) is one of those sources. In 2006, MUVT tested 278, 27 and 377 different corn, grain sorghum and soybean varieties. Information about these varieties is available in print at local extension offices or on the MUVT Website: http://agebb.missouri.edu/cropperf/. MUVT has recently added some additional tools to its Website to help farmers and their advisers compare and select varieties. After logging onto the Website and selecting a crop (corn, grain sorghum or soybean), you can browse through the various tests conducted in each region. Toward the bottom of the main page of each crop is a link labeled "Interactive Corn Test Results," "Interactive Grain Sorghum Test Results," or "Interactive Soybean Test Results." After selecting this link you will be presented with two choices "Headto- Head Variety Yield Comparison" and "Search Specific Location Results." For corn and grain sorghum pages, the word "hybrid" will be used instead of "variety." The "Head-to-Head Variety Yield Comparison" link allows you to compare the yields of any two varieties in all of the tests and locations in which both varieties were tested. You will be asked to select the two varieties from a dropdown list of all entered varieties. Varieties are grouped by company. After submitting the two variety names, you will see one or more small tables containing the yields of both varieties in all location where the two varieties were tested. The differences in yield for the two varieties will be calculated and an LSD will be presented. This LSD is the number of bushels for which the two varieties must differ before you can be confident that they are truly different in yield. The "Search Specific Location Results" allows you to summarize data for a specific location. After selecting a region and a location within that region, you have four choices of summarizing the data. For example, selecting "All Varieties for a Single Company" will quickly allow you to determine if a variety of interest was entered into the test. Other selection choices allow you to view subsets of the data instead of information for all varieties. Another useful part of the Website is the "Characteristics of Varieties" link located along the left side in the main page. This section displays variety characteristics by company for all tested varieties. Characteristics common for all three crops include the seed treatments applied to the entered variety and maturity. Other characteristics are specific for the crop, but, in most instances, relate to biotech traits, pest resistance or tolerance and herbicide resistance. The characteristics are provided by the company that entered the variety and are not tested by MUVT.
Bill Wiebold |
