Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 40 Page 41 Page 42 Page 43 Page 44 Page 45 Page 46 Page 47 Page 48 Page 49 Page 50 Page 51 Page 52 Page 53 Page 54 Page 55 Page 56 Page 57 Page 58 Page 59 Page 60 Page 61 Page 62 Page 63 Page 64 Page 65 Page 66 Page 67 Page 68 Page 69 Page 70 Page 71 Page 72 Page 73 Page 74 Page 75 Page 76 Page 77 Page 78 Page 79 Page 80 Page 81 Page 82 Page 83 Page 84 Page 85 Page 86 Page 87 Page 88 Page 89 Page 90 Page 91 Page 92 Page 93 Page 94 Page 95 Page 96 Page 97 Page 98 Page 99 Page 100 Page 101 Page 102 Page 103 Page 104 Page 105 Page 106 Page 107 Page 108 Page 109 Page 110 Page 111 Page 112THIS annual publication provides information on cereal and oilseed variety performance in Alberta and northeastern British Columbia. Important agronomic characteristics and disease resistance information is provided for varieties of wheat, barley, oat, rye, triticale, flax and canola. The Alberta Regional Variety Testing program for cereals and flax is coordinated by the Alberta Regional Variety Advisory Committee (ARVAC) and Alberta Agriculture and Forestry (AAF). Funding for the program is provided by: • Alberta Agriculture and Forestry • Alberta Wheat Commission • Alberta Barley Commission • Alberta Oat Growers Association • Alberta Seed Growers • Alberta Seed Processors • Entry fees for the varieties being tested Data for this publication come from various sources, including: • Alberta Agriculture & Forestry • Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada • British Columbia Grain Producers • CPS Canada • University of Alberta • Alberta Innovates Technology Futures • Farming Smarter •  Smokey Applied Research and Development Association (SARDA) • Battle River Research Group (BRRG) • Chinook Applied Research Association (CARA) • Gateway Research Organization (GRO) • Lakeland Applied Research Association (LARA) • Mackenzie Applied Research Association (MARA) • Northern Peace Applied Research Association (NPARA) • Prairie Grain Development Committee • Canola Council of Canada The following individuals are the Regional Variety Trial and crop specific coordinators: • Alex Fedko, Regional Variety Trial Coordinator • Spring wheat, Dr. H. Randhawa and Dr. D. Spaner • Winter Wheat, Dr. R. Graf • Barley, J. Anderson • Oat, Dr. J. Mitchell-Fetch • Triticale, Dr. H. Randhawa • Fall Rye, Dr. J. Larsen • Winter Triticale, Dr. J. Larsen • Flax, Dr. M. Beaith Sincere thanks are extended to all individuals and organizations that contribute to this publication. Varieties of Cereal and Oilseed Crops for Alberta Yield Results and Reporting Variety choice should never be based solely on yield perfor- mance, as it is only one factor that affects net return. The genetic yield potential of a variety is often masked by numerous factors, some of which can be controlled through variety choice and others through astute agronomic management. Producers are encouraged to consider other characteristics such as matu- rity, plant height, lodging and disease/pest resistance when deciding which varieties to grow. Long-term satisfaction with a variety is often related to non-yield characteristics. Exercise caution when making yield comparisons among varieties. Variety yield should only be directly compared to the standard reference check. Actual head-to-head yield compari- sons between other varieties may not have occurred. Small plot agronomic trials are expensive to grow and new varieties are registered every year. It is simply impractical to grow all varie- ties at the same time. Following several years of data collection, the yield performance for a particular variety stabilizes relative to the check and further testing is no longer required. It is for these reasons that the check varieties are grown every year (e.g. AC Barrie for CWRS wheat, AC Metcalfe for barley) and that changes to these checks are infrequent. The “Overall Station Years of Testing” column provides an indication of the unbal- anced nature of the dataset. At least six station-years of yield data collected over two years are required prior to reporting the figures in this publica- tion. For new varieties, Overall Yield is often the first indica- tion of yield potential relative to the check. As additional data become available, yield performance is also expressed on the basis of environmental productivity (Yield Test Categories of Low, Medium, High and Very High). Yield rankings among varieties can change substantially due to growing conditions. To reflect these differences, results from a test site that produced high yield in a particular year are placed into the database for ‘high’ yielding environments. The same site may contribute to the ‘low’ yield category in a drought year, when yields are low. Consistent performance over all Yield Test Categories indicates that a variety has environmental responses similar to the check and may have good yield stability over a wide range of environ- ments. Scientific studies conducted on variety performance in Western Canada have shown that Yield Test Category analysis provides a more reliable indication of yield performance than results organized by geographic region. The yield comparison tables have several features: •  Overall actual yield of the check (bushels/acre) based on all data available to the testing program is provided along with the number of station years of testing. • The range in yield for each Yield Test Category is defined. •  Actual yield of the check in each Yield Test Category is reported. Performance Trials 46 www.seed.ab.ca | Advancing Seed in Alberta