Variety Testing

Objective:

The objective of the University of Missouri Crop Performance Testing Program at the Delta Research Center is to provide producers with an up-to-date, reliable and unbiased source of information that will permit growers in southeast Missouri to make valid comparisons of available varieties of soybeans, corn, and grain sorghum.

To Producers:

Selection of a productive crop variety is an important and low cost management decision. However, the large number of varieties available and the various combinations of plant characteristics can make the decision difficult and time consuming. In an effort to make the process of choosing a variety that performs well in a given environment easier, the Missouri Crop Performance Testing Program evaluates hundreds of varieties at multiple test locations across the bootheel region.

Our goal is to treat each variety the same, eliminating all variables possible within the test plots, both natural and man made, and allowing each variety to express its own unique genetic potential. Tests are conducted under as uniform conditions as possible using small plots to reduce the chance of soil and climatic variations occurring between one variety and another.

While there is a tendency to consider the test results nearest ones own farm, studies suggest basing variety selection on multiple locations across time can make the greatest gains in productivity. Therefore, to obtain an improved estimate of a particular varieties' potential, the performance results of that variety should be checked at several different locations and for several different years. This method of variety selection should allow a grower to chose a variety with high yield potential, regardless of the environmental conditions in which it is grown, given that routine and accepted farming practices are used during the production of the variety.

Every effort has been made in the Missouri Crop Performance Testing Report to facilitate comparisons of varieties across years and locations and should aid the individual grower in evaluating the merits of most commercial varieties available in Missouri today. It is also suggested that growers using a new variety for the first time consider the information contained in this report and then grow a small acreage to determine if the variety in question is one which will work well in their particular farming program.

Major Accomplishments

Over the years, the Missouri Crop Performance Testing Program has made many innovations in variety testing procedures and in the distribution of data. Field equipment has been upgraded to include state-of-the-art planters and plot combines. Harvesting equipment has been fitted with electronic weighing systems, moisture monitors, and data recorders to improve accuracy and to speed the acquisition, processing and publication of information gathered.

Information is now distributed in the form of published reports and electronic media. Results of variety evaluations are published every year in three separate Missouri Crop Performance Special Report books. There are approximately 14,000 copies of these books distributed across Missouri for the three major crops of corn, soybeans, and grain sorghum. There are some 20,000 copies of a condensed soybean publication sent by mail directly to growers around the state, which are printed and distributed in cooperation with the Missouri Soybean Merchandising Council and farmer check-off dollars. In addition to these printed versions variety evaluations can be found on the World Wide Web at http://agebb.missouri.edu/cropperf. The data on the web site is exactly the same as the data found in the printed versions of the Missouri Crop Performance books.

Research in Progress

Evaluations of soybeans, corn, and grain sorghum will continue and efforts are being made to increase the number of entries in the program. Additionally, the program will test and evaluate alternative crops and production methods of interest and potential importance to Missouri farmers. While the Variety Testing Program does not promote any specific alternative crop or production method, it does attempt to provide the yield and management information needed by producers to view alternative cropping methods and crop options objectively. It is possible that these crops and production systems will continue to be studied by the Variety Testing Program given there is sufficient interest on the part of farmers or the promise of future economic potential.

2004 Field Day Report