WCROC celebrates centennial at summer field day
By Carol Stender
cstender@agrinews.com
Date Modified: 08/09/2010 3:27 PM
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MORRIS, Minn. —Usually the West Central Research and Outreach Center's summer field day focuses on current varieties, renewable energy and livestock production, but last week the annual event looked more retro.
The WCROC is celebrating its centennial and offered farmers a look at crops and production practices past, present and future.
More varieties were planted in small grains and row crop plots this year. The plantings included varieties from the early 1900s to current varieties.
Corn yield is affected by weather, agronomics and genetics, said University of Minnesota Extension agronomist Jeff Coulter. Early varieties, like Flint, were open pollinated and high in starch with rounded kernels similar to popcorn. The varieties lacked uniformity and had less lignin. meaning they lacked strength, Coulter said. As a result, the plants had greater digestibility.
Hybrids came in the 1930s and were made using two inbred lines. Iowa developed the Iowa Stiff Stalk Synthetics in 1933, which led the way to better hybrid development. With each generation, the plants have less vigor, Coulter said. Researchers also double crossed the hybrid to create corn varieties with greater vigor.
While the inbred lines didn't create much seed, double crossing the lines did.
As corn moved into the hybrid era, from 1930 to 1960, producers saw yields increase by one bushel per acre per year.
Now corn is in a transgenic period with genetically modified varieties. Yields are increasing 2.4 bushes per acre per year.
Record corn yields have been reported, Coulter said. The Minnesota yield average is 174 bushels per acre, but a producer near Slayton harvested 268 bushel corn. In 2008, a farmer in the St. Cloud area reported 272 bushels on irrigated land.
The university's role has changed with the advent of GMO varieties. RoundUp Ready traits have been developed by private companies, Coulter said. Public research at land grant universities focuses more on education— including teaching future plant breeders.
Soybean research has experienced similar changes, said Minnesota soybean breeder Jim Orf. Private companies hold the patents to some transgenic varieties. The patents won't be released until around 2014, Orf said. Orf has worked on special varieties for the food market.
The history of soybean variety development isn't as long as corn's history, Orf said.
Early varieties like Minsoy, introduced in 1922, and Habero came from China.
Soybeans are a relatively new crop that got its start during World War II when the government wanted an oil-based crop, Orf said.
At the U of M, barley breeder Gene Lambert was also assigned to work with soybeans in the 1950s, Orf said. When he was given a choice between the two, Lambert chose soybeans. The university's first soybean breeder now has a variety named after him. The U of M released its first variety, Renville, in 1954.
Small grains research got its start during the early 1900s. Barley breeding at the U of M started in 1901 and resulted in its first variety release, Manchuria, in 1918.
U of M barley research has focused on six-row varieties with kernel plumpness. Researchers are developing varieties with greater disease resistance.
The university is also using more molecular marking technology.
WCROC's field day also involved the center's renewable energy efforts including wind to hydrogen development as it relates anhydrous ammonia production. The center is building the hydrogen plant near its turbine.
Swine researchers Lee Johnston and Yuzhi Li discussed reducing fossil fuel use in confinement swine nurseries. The center is one of four institutions studying the effects of reducing night time temperatures in pig nurseries.
During the 1980s, research was done on temperature reduction of nurseries at night, but it wasn't adopted because there weren't automatic temperature controls and the pigs were different, said WCROC director of operations and lead swine researcher Johnston. The concept is easier to put into practice now because of technology and leaner pigs.