Planting Date Effects on Small Grain Varieties at Maricopa under Full Production Conditions

Abstract

Planting date can have a tremendous effect on small grain yield. The purpose of this study is to document the interactions of planting date with current small grain varieties. Field studies were conducted at the Maricopa Agricultural Center over the 198$ 1989, and 1990 growing seasons. Six barley, durum and wheat varieties were compared at four planting dates from November to February. WestBred Gustoe was among the highest yielding barleys and WestBred Turbo was among the highest yielding durum regardless of planting date. The highest yielding wheat was WestBred 911 at the November plantings, Klasic at the December and January plantings, and Topaz and Klasic at the February plantings. The varieties also responded differentially to planting date in terms of plant height, kernel weight, heading and maturity date, but not test weight. This study demonstrates the importance of planting date in choosing a small grain variety.