June 4, 2013

Learn about best management practices for wheat, tour a variety plot, and enjoy breakfast with growers Tuesday, June 11, in Arapahoe.

The 2013 Wheat Program and Plot Tour will begin in Arapahoe with breakfast at 7 a.m. at the Ella Missing Community Center at 411 6th St. Following breakfast UNL extension specialists will discuss variety selection, plant growth stages, disease management, and best practices for wheat production.

Afterward, there will be a tour of the wheat variety plot 3.5 miles west of Beaver City on land farmed by Ron and Rex McClain. This plot, part of the UNL wheat variety trial, has received about 10 inches of moisture since May 1, 2012 and is being grown under extreme drought conditions.

The tour will include new winter wheat varieties, experimental varieties, and many of the varieties being grown by producers as well as those being used to measure progress in winter wheat variety development. This plot was no-till planted in forage sorghum residue that was chemical-fallowed and features side-by-side comparisons of 27 varieties. This is an excellent opportunity to learn more about wheat variety performance and management in a no-till system.

Resource persons on the tour will include:

• Bob Klein, UNL Extension Western Nebraska Crops Specialist, West Central REC, North Platte
• Stephen Wegulo, UNL Extension Plant Pathologist, Lincoln
• Rich Russel, Field Representative for Arrow Seed, Broken Bow
• Noel Mues, UNL Extension Educator, Furnas County

Location and Resources

If you’re just joining the group for the field tour, the plot is 3.5 miles west of Beaver City or 12 miles south and ½ mile west of Arapahoe. Plot signs will identify the site on the north side of the highway.

Certified Crop Advisors (CCA) can receive continuing education credits for this program. For more information about the event, contact the Extension Office in Furnas County at 308-268-3105 or email Noel Mues at nmues1@unl.edu.

The tour is sponsored by UNL Extension, Arrow Seed Co., Cargill, and West Central Inc. University of Nebraska–Lincoln variety performance trials are supported in part by grower check-off funds through a grant from the Nebraska Wheat Board.

Noel Mues
Extension Educator, Furnas County