2001 Table of Contents

2001 STEEP III Progress Report

TITLE: Evaluation of Wheat and Pea Varieties Under Direct and Conventional Seeding in Washington, Idaho and Oregon.

INVESTIGATORS: Stephen Guy, University of Idaho, Kevin McPhee, USDA-ARS and Dave Huggins, USDA-ARS

OBJECTIVES:

1. Identify pea varieties with superior performance under direct seeding.

2. Compare performance of pea varieties in direct vs. conventional seeding.

3. Determine if the performance ranking of pea varieties under direct seeding is different from that under conventional seeding.

KEYWORDS: Pisum sativum, tillage, yield, no-till

STATEMENT OF PROBLEM:

Conventional tillage practices commonly used in the highly erosive Palouse region of eastern Washington, northern Idaho and northeastern Oregon threaten the sustainability of agricultural production. Reduced tillage and direct seeding into standing stubble provide greater crop residue to protect the soil surface from erosive forces such as spring rain and runoff from snow melt. Significant information is available on the performance of wheat and pea varieties in conventional tillage conditions, however, relatively little information is available on production under reduced tillage and direct seeding. Results of this study will provide needed information on the adaptability of pea varieties to these conditions.

ZONE OF INTEREST: Palouse region of Idaho, Washington and Oregon

ABSTRACT:

Conventional tillage practices are a tradition in the Palouse region of the Pacific Northwest, however, the impact on the soil is threatening the sustainability of crop production. Reduced tillage and direct seeding into previous crop stubble (no-till) offers significant environmental benefits for crop production. All pea varieties currently available to growers have been developed under conventional tillage conditions and with little understanding of their response to no-till conditions. Fifteen to twenty pea varieties were compared in conventional tillage and no-till conditions in Idaho and Washington during the 2000 and 2001 crop seasons. Seed yield was lower under no-till in all trials with few individual varieties producing greater seed yield under no-till conditions. Several factors contribute to the reduced yield including cold and wet soil conditions, poor stand establishment and slow crop growth. Karita and Joel were the highest yielding green pea varieties while Fallon and Swing were the highest yielding yellow pea varieties. In general, varieties with the tendrilled leaf type and short vine length were the most upright and easiest to harvest. Direct comparison between conventional and no-till conditions indicated significant variety by tillage system interaction. Further investigation into the effect of the no-till environment on individual varieties is needed to establish specific breeding objectives and allow final conclusions to be drawn regarding variety adaptation to no-till conditions.

RESULTS AND INTERPRETATION:

Idaho Trials
Twenty varieties of pea including green, yellow and marrowfat types were evaluated under no-tillage (NT) conditions at the University of Idaho Parker Plant Science Farm near Moscow, ID and east of Genesee, ID in cooperation with Russ Zenner during the 2001 crop season. The trials were sown into spring wheat stubble on 23 April, 2001 at Genesee and into barley stubble on 5 May, 2001 at Moscow using a Great Plains drill with turbo-colters and double-disk openers. Stand establishment was good at both locations. A third trial was established at the Kambitsch farm north of Genesee to directly compare fifteen pea varieties under NT and conventional tillage (CT) conditions. Chisel plowing was the primary tillage operation used to establish the CT treatment. The trial was sown on 24 April, 2001 with a Great Plains drill. Weed control for all sites included Pursuit and Assure II. Leaf weevil was controlled on all plots using Asana. Seed weevil and aphid were controlled using Capture applied at early bloom.

Average seed yield for the green cotyledon peas at Moscow was 2611 lb/a. 'Toledo' was the highest yielding variety (2763 lb/a) and was significantly higher yielding than 'Columbia' (2709 lb/a) (Table 1). Other varieties yielding greater than Columbia were PS610152, Pro98106, 'Karita', and NZ4L25. Average seed yield for the yellow cotyledon varieties was greater than the green cotyledon peas. 'Rex', 'Badminton', 'Jasmin', 'Delta' and 'Fallon' yielded between 2957 and 3000 lb/a. The overall average seed yield for the trial was greater than previous years at 2700 lb/a.

Average seed yield at Genesee was 2148 lb/a (Table 2). The highest yielding green cotyledon variety was 'Lifter' (2410 lb/a) followed by Karita, Toledo, 'Majoret', and 'Joel'. The highest yielding yellow cotyledon variety was 'Swing' (2635 lb/a) followed by Rex and Jasmin. Combined data for 1999, 2000, and 2001 is summarized in Table 3. Yield in 2001 was significantly greater than previous years. Average yield across years and locations shows Karita and Joel to be the highest yielding green cotyledon varieties and Fallon and Swing to be the highest yielding yellow cotyledon varieties. Columbia was below average across all trials.

Pea variety performance at the Kambitsch farm showed no significant difference between NT and CT for seed yield, seed size, vine length or canopy height (Table 4). Karita was the highest yielding variety overall (3178 lb/a (CT) and 2783 lb/a (NT)). Yield of Karita sown at a high rate (Karita-HSR) was reduced compared to yield at the normal seeding rate in both NT and CT (Table 4). Swing was the only variety to produce substantially greater seed yield under NT compared to CT. 'Hero' and 'Badminton' yielded significantly less under NT than CT (Table 4). Badminton yielded similarly under NT and CT in 2000. The differing results between years support earlier findings that environmental conditions influence variety performance disproportionately.

Washington Trials
Twenty pea varieties were evaluated in a single trial at the USDA-ARS Soil Conservation Farm near Albion, WA. The trial was sown into spring barley stubble on May, 2001 using the Crop and Soil Sciences Department cross-slot no-till drill. Soil and residue conditions allowed optimum seed placement resulting in excellent stand establishment. Weed control was accomplished using a pre-plant application of Roundup and Pursuit and a post emergent application of Assure II. Ineffective control of aphid and feeding pressure from deer significantly impaired plant growth and seed set forcing the trial to be abandoned. Data from 2000 is presented in Table 5.

Note: Wheat evaluations were not conducted due to a reduced level of funding from that originally proposed. Also, Dr. Stephen Dofing and Dr. Bill Payne have accepted new positions elsewhere, therefore, Kevin McPhee has taken the lead for the Washington trials.

INTERACTION (COOPERATION) WITH OTHER SCIENTISTS CONDUCTING RELATED ACTIVITY: None

PUBLICATIONS AND PRESENTATIONS: No publications or presentations have been produced or made at this time.

Table 1. Pea variety performance under no-till at Moscow, 2001.

Table 2. Pea variety performance under no-till at Genesee, 2001.

Table 3. Seed yield and seed weight for dry pea varieties evaluated in no-till for 1999, 2000 and 2001 in northern Idaho at Moscow and Genesee.
Seed Yield Seed Weight

Table 4. Performance of pea varieties under replicated conventional tillage and no-till management near Genesee, ID, in 2001.

Table 5. Plant morphology and seed yield of twenty pea varieties under no-till conditions at the
USDA-ARS Soil Conservation Farm near Albion, WA in 2000.

Contact us: Hans Kok, (208)885-5971 | Accessibility | Copyright | Policies | WebStats | STEEP Acknowledgement
Hans Kok, WSU/UI Extension Conservation Tillage Specialist, UI Ag Science 231, PO Box 442339, Moscow, ID 83844 USA Redesigned by Leila Styer, CAHE Computer Resource Unit; Maintained by Debbie Marsh, Dept. of Crop & Soil Sciences, WSU