THE UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS LIBRARY it:/ & -65 UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS Agricultural Experiment Station BULLETIN No. 195 YIELDS OF SPRING GRAINS IN ILLINOIS BY W. L. BUELISON AND O. M. ALLYN URBANA, ILLINOIS, JANUARY, 1917 SUMMARY OP BULLETIN No. 195 NORTHERN ILLINOIS. Silvermine, Schoenen, and American Banner have been the leading varieties of oats tested for six years. Great American, Scottish Chief, and White Kherson (Iowa 103), which have been tested for only two years, have given very satisfactory yields. Pages 499-501 On the basis of present information, northern-grown seed oats are not enough better than the home-grown oats to justify the extra expense and trouble of shipping them. Page 502 Tests with spring wheat, spring barley, spring rye, and spring emmer have been too limited to justify any conclusions as to the relative value of different varieties. Pages 502-503 CENTRAL ILLINOIS. The highest yielding varieties of oats that have been grown for six or more years at Urbana, axe Sixty Day, White Bonanza, Siberian, Schoenen, Silvermine, Irish Victor, Swedish Select, and American Banner. Other promising varieties are Great American, Yellow Kherson (Iowa 105), Big Four, and Wisconsin Pedigree No. 1. Pages 503-505 It is not likely that spring wheat will ever become a very important crop in central Illinois, but in case fall-seeded wheats winter-kill, spring wheat may sometimes be substituted. Page 506 Barley has given some good results, but further trials are required to deter- mine the most promising varieties. Page 506 SOUTHERN ILLINOIS. Small spring grains are not well adapted to conditions in southern Illinois, but Texas Red and the early varieties of oats are more promising than the late varieties. CHARACTERISTICS OF DIFFERENT VARIETIES OF OATS. Pages 507-508 YIELDS OF SPRING GRAINS IN ILLINOIS BY W. L. BUKLISON, ASSOCIATE CHIEF IN CROP PRODUCTION, AND O. M. ALLYN, FIRST ASSISTANT IN CROP PRODUCTION Spring grains constitute a large part of the crops produced in Illi- nois. Every season, the Illinois Experiment Station is asked to give definite information relative to varieties of oats, barley, and spring wheat for the different sections of the state. This bulletin is intended to present the results of variety trials with these small grains, which have been obtained in the northern, the central, and the southern sec- tions of Illinois, as represented by the experiment fields at DeKalb, in DeKalb county; Urbana, in Champaign county; and Fairfield, in Wayne county. Illinois possesses marked climatic and soil differences. From north to south, the extreme length of the state is about 380 miles. The rainfall for northern Illinois is 33.64 inches per year; for central Illinois, 35.76 inches per year ; and for southern Illinois, 40.25 inches per year. The length of the growing season for the northern section is 166 days, as an average ; for the central section, 173 days ; and for the southern section, 188 days. Therefore varieties of small grains suited to one locality are not necessarily the most desirable for another part of the state. The soil on which the experiments at DeKalb and Urbana were conducted is, for the most part, brown silt loam; at Fairfield, gray silt loam on tight clay. These fields have been regularly supplied with phosphate rock and either farm manure or crop residues. Limestone has also been applied at Fairfield and to some extent at Urbana. The aim has been to keep the land in a good state of fertility but not to produce abnormal conditions. It is believed that these fields are such as any progressive Illinois farmer would maintain. Methods of cul- ture which have been followed are comparable with those* practiced by leading grain growers of the corn belt. Thus the yields reported are no larger than may well be expected from the respective sections of Illinois. They are calculated on the basis of 32 pounds per bushel. NORTHERN ILLINOIS TESTS AT DEKALB, IN DEKALB COUNTY Variety tests of spring grains were begun on the DeKalb crop field in the spring of 1907. In the main, they have been conducted in the west rotation, consisting primarily of corn, corn, oats, and clover. 499 500 BULLETIN No. 195 [January, Other tests with oats, spring wheat, and barley have been conducted mostly in the east rotation, consisting of corn, oats, wheat, and clover. In each rotation, a grain system and a live-stock system of farming have been practiced, and each variety has been tested in each system of farming each year. Oats. In making the comparisons of the different varieties of oats, those varieties grown in the rotation of corn, corn, oats, and clover have been used, as the larger number of varieties have been grown in . that rotation. Since the highest average yield does not always indicate the best variety, and in order to establish more definitely the relation of the TABLE 1. AVERAGE YIELDS OF VARIETIES OF OATS GROWN AT DEKALB, ANI> PERCENTAGE EATING USING SWEDISH SELECT AS A STANDARD: 1907-1916 1 (Bushels per acre) Variety 1907 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 Per- centage rating Swedish Select 52 9 78 4 50 6 70 48 475 62.8 59.3 100.0 American Banner 28.8 57 1 779 61.5 43.3 61.6 65.4 108.3 Schoenen 26.6 55.7 77.2 64.9 47.2 63.8 71.1 112.2 Silvermine 32.2 53.6 76.4 63.8 49.0 78.4 62.6 113.5 Sixty Day 37.8 57.7 62.2 41.1 55.7 100.4 Danish White Irish Victor Lincoln Minnesota No. 6 White Bonanza 30.9 38.1 27.8 27.2 30.2 55.3 53.9 47.4 46.0 44.9 83.6 73.3 75.8 75.0 73.1 ... 61.2 61.6 65.4 64.6 61.3 65.4 63.1 64.6 63.0 103.2 100.3 99.2 98.7 95.0 Siberian Twentieth Century Black Gotham 26.9 33.8 38.4 59'.1 84.1 54.7 55.9 61.2 63.0 63.6 106.4 109.0 98.7 Silvermine (6-403) 51.2 71 5 62.8 109.4 Garton 's No. 5 40.2 31.5 56.6 75.8 Black Tartarian 29 7 42.0 Mammoth Cluster 47.4 66.4 93.1 Scottish Chief 76.3 64.1 114.9 Great American 69.5 72.1 115.9 Big Four 67.9 63.5 107.5 White Kherson (Iowa 103) . 67.6 69.6 112.3 White Russian 62.8 38.2 82.7 President 60.9 53.1 93.3 Wisconsin Pedigree No. 1.. Texas Red ... r. 59.0 58.1 59.6 58.9 97.1 95.7 Brvant 's Silver Plume 544 61.6 94.9 Victory 57.5 Garton 's Victor 47.7 65 6 Early Champion 61 1 Yellow Khorson (Iowa 105) 60.7 Native Yellow . . 589 1908 cutting was mixed in harvesting, and the yields were therefore thrown out. 1917] YIELDS OF SPRING GRAINS IN ILLINOIS 501 different varieties with respect to yield, all are compared on the same basis, with Swedish Select as a standard. This at once gives a definite rating of the different varieties when compared with a standard variety, even tho the standard may not be the leading variety. A summary of the varieties tested at DeKalb from 1907 to 1916 appears in Tables 1 and 2, which present fairly conclusive data as to thfe highest yielding and most important varieties. Of the varieties tested for six years, Silvermine. Schoenen, and American Banner have produced the highest yields. Great American, Scottish Chief, and "White Kherson (Iowa 103) , which have been tested for only two years, have given very satisfactory yields. TABLE 2. COMPARABLE AVERAGE YIELDS OF VARIETIES OF OATS GROWN AT DEKALB USING SWEDISH SELECT AS A STANDARD: 1909-1916 (Bushels per acre) Variety Total number of tests Number of years compared Years on which com- parison is based Average yield Swedish Select i American Banner 16 Schoenen 16 Silvermine 16 Swedish Select 16~ Sixty Day Swedish Select 16 Danish White 12 Irish Victor 12 Lincoln 12 Minnesota No. 6 12 Swedish Select 12~ White Bonanza Swedish Select 12 Siberian 6 Swedish Select ' 12~ Silvermine (6-403) 10 Carton's No. 5 10 Swedish Select Twentieth Century 4 Swedish Select Black Gotham 4 Swedish Select Mammoth Cluster Scottish Chief Great American Big Four White Kherson (Towa 103) White Russian President Wisconsin Pedigree No. 1. Texas Bed Bryant 's Silver Plume .... 1911-1916 56.4 61.1 63.3 64.0 1911-1914 54.0 54.2 1909, 1910, 1915, 1916 65.4 63.6 62.9 62.6 1909, 1910, 1916 1911, 1912, 1913 1914, 1915, 1916 1909, 1910 63.5 60.3 "56.2"' 59.8 ~56~75~ 61.8 42.8 65.7" 71.6 1911, 1912 59.5 1915-1916 61.1 56.9 70.2 70.8 65.7 68.6 50.5 57.0 59.3 58.5 58.0 502 BULLETIN No. 195 [January, Northern and Home-Grown Seed Oats. Many farmers in northern Illinois have made it a practice to obtain their seed oats from the northern states and Canada, maintaining that they are superior to the home-grown oats for seed purposes. In order to establish the relative difference in yield between the two kinds of seed oats, tests were begun in 1908 with oats grown in Canada and with home-grown oats, both kinds in every comparison being of the same variety. The results appear in Table 3. TABLE 3. AVERAGE YIELDS OP NORTHERN AND OF HOME-GRO\VN SEED OATS AT DEKALB (Bushels per acre) Variety Date Number of tests each Yield of northern oats Yield of home- grown oats Siberian 1908 6 40 1 37 7 American Banner 1912 2 92.9 77.9 Siberian 1912 4 55 6 600 American Banner 1913 2 63.1 61.5 Siberian 1913 2 58 G 636 Swedish. Select 1914 4 1 52.1 47.5 American Banner 1914 2 49.1 43 3 Swedish Select 1915 4 73.1 680 American Banner 1915 4 72.8 61.6 American Banner. . 1916 4 72.1 80.7 Average 61.5 58.5 MDnly two tests were made of Swedish Select, northern-grown, in 1914. A six-year average, covering 32 tests with northern oats and 34 tests with home-grown oats, shows that the northern-grown seed pro- duced 3.0 bushels more per acre than the home-grown seed. This dif- ference is scarcely large enough to justify the extra expense and TABLE 4. AVERAGE YIELDS OF VARIETIES CF SPRING WHEAT GROWN AT DEKALB: 1907-1916 (Bushels per acre) Variety 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 Kubanka Saskatchewan Fife Minnesota No. 169 Red Fife. 12.3 17.6 163 15.8 30.3 28.9 31.9 30.1 15.9 15.0 6.3 7.1 22.2 25.2 24.7 Minnesota No. 163 167 Durum 30.3 1 Marquis 306 347 Blue Stem 196 ?1 3 Alaska. . ?30 1917} YIELDS CF SPRING GRAINS IN ILLINOIS 503 trouble of shipping in the northern seed oats ; and in three of the ten comparisons, the home-grown seed produced larger average yields. Spring Wheat. To a limited extent, spring wheat takes the place of oats in the rotations 011 some of the northern Illinois farms. In con- nection with the work with oats at DeKalb, a few preliminary tests have been made with spring wheat. The yields of the different varie- ties grown appear in Table 4. Barley, Eye, and Emmer. Tests with spring barley at DeKalb have been veiy limited. Spring rye has been grown for two years, and spring emmer for one year. The results are presented in Table 5. TABLE 5. AVERAGE YILLDS OF SPRING BARLEY, EYE, AND EMMER GROWN AT DEKALB (Bushels per acre) Variety 1909 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 Michigan Pedigree barley 40.1 34.6 43.1 White Hulless barley 1 43.9 32 1 42 3 Wisconsin Pedigree barley 55.7 57.2 Montana Two-Rowed barley 50 346 Spring rye 223 195 Snrinar emmer 2 . 32.0 Tor the purpose of comparison, the yields of barley grain are calculated on the basis of 48 pounds to the bushel for unhulled barleys and 40 pounds for hul- less barley, the difference of 8 pounds being allowed for hulls. (The customary weight for hulless barley is 60 pounds per bushel.) 2 Based on 30 pounds to the bushel (see U. S. Farmers' Bulletin 466, page 12). CENTRAL ILLINOIS TESTS AT URBANA, IN CHAMPAIGN COUNTY Variety trials of spring grains on the Urbana field, reported in this bulletin, were begun in 1903. The results given have been obtained from varieties of spring grains grown in two rotations: (1) corn, corn, oats or other spring grain, and clover; (2) wheat, corn, oats, and clover. The yields are averages obtained from a grain system and a live-stock system of farming. Oats. The leading varieties of oats are compared, on the percent- age basis, with Siberian, a variety which has been in the trials since 1903. This method of tabulation renders it possible to make a direct comparison of a given group of tests. The complete data are reported in Table 6 and a summary is given in Table 7. Sixty Day, White Bonanza, Siberian, Schoenen, Silvermine, Irish Victor, Swedish Select, and American Banner are the highest yielding varieties of oats tested for central Illinois. These varieties have been grown for six or more years at Urbana. Other promising varieties are Great American, Yellow Kherson (Iowa 105), Big Four, and Wiscon- sin Pedigree No. 1. 504 BULLETIN No. 195 [January, & " bD in oi cq o ITS CO CO m CO rH co oo * co in os in oo co OO rH in OS CO OSOTjt "S.9 g-g r-5 in CO O b^ O5 OS O O 00 rH rH b- m Tf< rH rH OS b- Ol 00 CO Ol Ol Ol rH Ol rH ', in rH OO' rH Ol O OS Ol rH O CO i-H b- rH 00 Ol O O rH rH rH t-^ co' in ' '. oo o o ; rH CD rH os 10 m -^ CO b- OS . CD IO CM O in co * oo rH in 01 m in in b- OS Tt< CM rH b- OS rH .:- b- 00 b- ' co" ; o co' . b- co m ' t~ co in i~ CO CO CO IO in co * b- co oo in in co b- m t- CD b- t~ IO IO b- CO 10 rH os CO rH Oi I rH CO* ; IO 03 CO CO Ol "^ in Tt* T^ co CO o b- co -* b- in 01 co os CO O * 00 CO Ol rH CO in OS rH rH CO CM rH CO CO co' . in t 47.0 Siberian 56 12 1903-1914, 1916 47 8 Lincoln 26 12 > ) y y 43 8 Siberian 62 12 1903-1913, 1915, 19j.6 48 5 White Bonanza 38 12 y y > > y y 49.9 Siberian Twentieth Century 48 18 11 11 1903-1914 yy if 45.7 40 Siberian 60 11 1903-1912, 1915, 1916 51 1 Irish Victor 30 11 y y >t > i 49 9 Danish White 30 11 y y y y y y 48 3 Siberian 62 11 1905-1916 52 5 Sixty Day 44 11 y y y y 58 1 Siberian 51 9 1904-1911, 1915, 1910 51 4 Schoenen 27 9 y y y y y y 51.1 Siberian 36 8 1903-1911 444 Black Gotham 12 8 y > 410 Siberian 35 8 1904-1910, 1915, 1916 50.3 Silvermine 29 8 y y y y y y y y 49.2 Siberian 55 8 1907-1912, 1915, 1916 54.3 Minnesota No. 6 27 8 ) ) 51.3 Siberian 27 7 1903, 1904, 1907-1909,1915,1916 43.1 Black Tartarian 21 7 > i } ) y y ) > yy 35.0 Siberian 44 6 1911-1916 56 9 Swedish Select 26 6 y f y y 54 6 Siberian 28 5 1912-1916 56 2 Bryant's Silver Plume 22 5 yy yy 57.1 Siberian 20 4 1913-1913 52 1 Kherson 20 4 yy y y 51 5 Early Champion 20 4 yy yy 47.6 Siberian Waverly 3 3 3 3 1903-1905 yy yy 42.4 31 9 Prize Cluster 3 3 yy y) 25 9 Siberian 18 3 1914-1916 61 4 Mammoth Cluster 18 3 y y y y 49.6 Siberian 16 2 1915, 1916 66 8 Yellow Kherson (Iowa 105) Garton 's No. 5 16 16 2 9 y y y y y y 68.9 fil 2 Great American 16 2 y y y 72 1 Wisconsin Pedigree No. 1 ... Garton 's Victor. 16 16 2 9 y y y y y ) 67.9 58 7 Big Four 16 2 y y y 68 8 President 16 2 y y y 63.8 Siberian 8 I 1916 71 4 White Kherson (Iowa 103) . Scottish Chief 8 8 1 1 y y 76.4 77 2 Victory . . 8 1 y> 75 1 White Russian 8 1 it 65.7 506 BULLETIN No. 195 [January, Spring Wheat. The Urbana field is considered, ordinarily, outside the spring- wheat belt. Very little attention has therefore been given to spring wheat on that field. How r ever, recent high prices have given considerable impetus to the growing of the crop in central Illinois. In 1912 a strain of spring wheat which was known as home-grown, was placed in the trials with other spring grains. More recently, three other varieties have been included, none of which has seemed to do bet- ter than the type first tried. TABLE 8. AVERAGE YIELDS OF VARIETIES OF SPRING WHEAT GROWN AT URBANA: 1912-1916 (Bushels per acre) Variety Total number of tests Number of years compared 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 Spring, home-grown, S.W.R. 1 . . 13 5 25.6 17.9 12.8 Spring, home-grown, N.C.R. 2 . . 13 247 18 2 13 9 19 6 279 Durum 4 2 144 246 Marquis 4 2 146 21.8 Red Fife.. 4 2 64 18,3 'Southwest rotation consists of wheat, corn, oats, and clover (or soybeans). a North-eentral rotation consists of corn, corn, oats, and clover (or soybeans). Even tho the data for spring wheat are limited, there are indica- tions that this crop offers possibilities, especially where winter-killing is likely to occur. Barley. Only a few of the more important kinds of barley were included in the trials during the earlier years, but for the last two sea- sons the number has been increased, and in the near future others will be placed in competition with those now on trial. The results to date are meager, but they are presented for the information they convey to growers who wish to diversify their crops. TABLE 9. AVERAGE YIELDS OF VARIETIES OF BARLEY GROWN AT URBANA: 1912-1916 (Bushels per acre) Variety Total number of tests Number of years compared 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 Oderbrucker, S.W.R. 1 12 5 48.0 17.8 25.3 Oderbrucker, N.C.R. 2 . . .- 12 5 13.5 2G.8 55.2 57.1 Common 10 5 53.8 17.1 24.2 54.9 55.8 Beardless 4 2 44.6 43.7 White Hulless' 4 2 26.4 40.2 Two-Rowed 3 2 38.2 28.1 Wisconsin Pedisrree . . 2 1 56.8 1 Southwcst rotation consists of wheat, corn, spring cereals, and clover (or soy- beans). 'North-central rotation consists of corn, corn, spring cereals, and clover (or soybeans). 'See first footnote to Table 5, page 503. 1917] YIELDS OF SPRING GRAINS IN ILLINOIS 507 Common barley has given fair results. It is probably the most promising of the varieties which have been grown for more than two years. Common and Oderbrucker barley are very similar in their characteristics. SOUTHERN ILLINOIS TESTS AT FAIRFIELD, IN WAYNE COUNTY At Fairfield, the crop field representing the southern part of the state, the work with oats has been incidental and limited because this crop has been grown to replace winter wheat when it failed. In 1909 all of the winter wheat was replaced, and in 1915 a few varieties of win- ter wheat were replaced by oats, barley, and spring wheat. Climat- ically, southern Illinois is not considered well adapted to the growing of spring grains, altho in favorable seasons, as in 1909, fair yields may be secured. The results which were obtained in 1909 and 1915 are given in Table 10. TABLE 10. AVERAGE YIELDS OF SPRING GRAINS GROWN AT FAIRFIELD (Bushels per acre) Variety 1909 1915 Texas Red oats 60.1 34.1 Sixty Day oats 50.1 24.5 Early Champion oats 48.9 27.3 \Vhite Bonanza oats 35.4 34.5 Swedish Select oats 43.4 41.0 Yellow Kherson (Iowa 105) oats 30.6 Great American oats 25.4 Manschuri barley 19.1 Montana Two-Rowed barley 30 Spring rye . 5.0 Marquis spring wheat 0.0 CHARACTERISTICS OF DIFFERENT VARIETIES OF OATS The adaptability of a variety of oats to a given section of the state is often determined Toy the time of its maturity, and its adaptability to a particular purpose by the color of the kernel, white oats usually bringing more on the market than yellow or dark-colored grains. It is important, also, to know something of the amount of foliage, especially if clover is to be seeded with the oats. Sixty Day oats do not produce relatively as large a quantity of foliage as other types, and it has been observed that clover does much better when planted with this variety than when seeded with a variety such as Swedish Select, which has an abundance of foliage. Table 11 has therefore been compiled in order to give the reader a clear idea of the important characteristics of the different varieties of oats concerning which data have been presented in the preceding pages. 508 BULLETIN No. 195 [January, w . o o o o 0- ft ft ftfO OOOOoQ 00000 G ft ft ft ft ft ooooo | ft ft ft ft^ OOOO02 00000 f-- " o 3 r ^ 00000 ftftftftft ftftftftft OOOOO OOOOO S o PH ?3 o 03 ^a c4 cS ,a EH EH CC EH EH 02 000 00 ft ft ft^ ft ft OOOoQOO * * s a s 3 3 a a a 3 3 3 * a a _ bf> S o o I o 5P"*i tU a 3^a M a la a a ~ 22222 2 a 'a s 333 s s as S S S 3 P P =3 a a a a a 9i& i& rj I o o o "S o o - , w T So g g hc^ a ^ 6 ^ j J J 00 2 > o o -t^ ' - - Q W O O O IW M 1 11 S co *j O S S ^ -S M *^ O U 1^4 S frt 02 CQCQ O eS Victory White Bonanz White Kherso White Eussian Wisconsin Pedigr Yellow Kherson 65 UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS-URBANA