PERFORMANCE of CEREAL CROPS in the TANANA RIVER VALLEY of ALASKA 1981

Abstract

This is the third publication in this form at on grain performance trials in the Tanana River Valley. The first, published two years ago, included the results of spring cereal variety tests conducted at Fairbanks and Delta Junction during the 1978 and 1979 growing seasons. The second, published one year ago, contained the test results from the 1980 growing season. Included in this report are a weather summary, the 1981 variety-test results, and a plant-disease section. Previous work with grain variety testing has shown that individual varieties do not perform the same when grown under different conditions. The yield a variety produces can be influenced by crop rotation, soil pH, fertilizer rate, tillage practices, rainfall distribution and amount, seeding rate, planting date, and many other factors. Each variety has its own particular set of growing conditions under which it best performs. For example, in the very same field, a variety that performs well on summer-fallow land may do poorly when planted on stubble land.