Tam 111 and Aspen may sound like a new computer game and a town in Colorado respectively but they are the names of the best producing wheat varieties from the test plots in Pratt County for 2008.

Tam 111 took top honors for dry land wheat with 71.8 bushel per acre while Aspen was the irrigated winner with 105.8 bushel per acre.

Aspen is a new variety and Tam 111 is a recent variety. They and the other new varieties all placed in the top rankings for both irrigated and dry land bushels per acre. A total of 14 dry land and seven irrigated varieties were in the test plots.

The test weights for all the varieties were within 1.5 pounds and only one, Jagger, was less than 60 pounds. 

Similar test weights are to be expected. All varieties were planted on the same day and next to each other in the same field.

“Your test weights are going to run really close together,” said Mark Ploger, Pratt County Extension agent.

The bushels per acre ranged from Tam 111 with 71.8 to Overly with 53.6 on the dry land plot and from 105.8 for Aspen to 93.8 for Jagger on the irrigated plot.

While these results give the farmer an example of production capabilities they are just a sample and not a true scientific result.

“We can’t call our plots scientifically accurate. It’s mainly for visual comparison,” Ploger said.

The varieties were tested on only one plot in the county and are not based on replicated data. If the plot were in a different field the test results would be different.

For example, Overly had the lowest yield among the dry land varieties with just 53.6 bushel per acre yet Overly has a history of high yields in Pratt County, Ploger said.

“Across the county Overly did very well. We don’t know for sure why it was on the bottom,” Ploger said. “It’s normally a very good wheat. A lot of people like it and the way it performs.”

To get a better idea of a varieties performance, they will be put in test plots for at least three years. That will give a better performance record over time because it can do well one year then poorly the next.

“You look for consistency in a wheat variety,” Ploger said.

While the new varieties placed high, the long established Jagger placed at or near the bottom in both irrigated and dry land. Jagger is susceptible to wheat rust has to be treated with a fungicide so it has lost some of it’s luster, Ploger said.

Jagger was the No.1 planted wheat in the state for several years. But as a variety ages it loses some of its disease immunity. 

It’s for that purpose that new varieties are introduced every year. They are bred with characteristics for disease resistance, Ploger said.

Among the surprises this year was Aspen, a new white wheat variety, performed like “gang busters” and did really on the irrigated plot, Ploger said.

Art had the second best yield on both the irrigated and dry land plots. It bears some watching over the next three to four years to see if it hangs in there, Ploger said.

Overall, all of the yields were acceptable and there were parts of the state that would gladly take any of the yields.

“I’m fairly well pleased with how the wheat plots turned out this year,” Ploger said. “The real test is whether they perform well next year.”

The dry land test plots cooperators were David Blasi and Jesse Blasi and Jesse was also the irrigated cooperator. The dry land acres were seeded Oct. 24, 2007 and the irrigated plot was seeded Oct. 25, 2007. All varieties were seeded at 70 pounds per acre and all were harvested on June 26.

Plot data

The results of the Pratt County wheat plots:

Dry land bushels per acre

Tam 111    71.8
Art    69.3
Santa Fe    69.2
Shocker    67.1
Winterhawk    66.8
Fuller    66.6
OK Bullet    64.3
Jagalene    64.3
Post Rock    64.3
Big Max    59.1
Cutter    59.1
Jagger    56.4
2174    53.9
Overley    53.6

Irrigated bushels per acre

Aspen    105.8
Art    103.6
Post Rock    98.9
Hawken    98.8
NuHills    96.2
Jagalene    94.2
Jagger    93.8