1.       2005 Soft Winter Wheat YIELD DATA from the WSU Variety Testing nursery at the Creston location averaged 107.1 bu/ac and was higher than the historical 3-year average (98.9 bu/ac)  by 8.2% NOTE:  The Creston nursery was located approximately 8 miles north of Creston, WA off Robertson Road (J. Kraus farm).

2.       This nursery was planted on 8 September 2004 into excellent soil moisture.  Fall 2004 GROWING CONDITIONS coupled with a mild winter and timely precipitation patterns in late spring 2005 undoubtedly were ideal for winter wheat development in this region for the 2005 crop.

3.       STRIPE RUST and LODGING were generally not an issue in this soft white winter wheat nursery. 

4.       Average PLANT HEIGHT of all varieties in the soft white winter nursery was 41.6 inches compared to an average plant height of 33.6 inches in the 2004 nursery – nearly 8-inches inches taller in 2005.  For example, Eltan averaged 41.0 inches compared to 33.5.0 inches in the 2005 and 2004 nurseries, respectively.   Average HEADING DATE was slightly earlier (about 4 days) than in 2004. 

5.       YIELD RANKING trends among many varieties at this location seemed to vary in this nursery compared to the historical yield rankings.  There didn’t appear to be a consistent pattern of responses by varieties to the unique 2005 growing season that consisted of drought conditions in early spring, high precipitation in May and early June and late season hot, dry conditions.  It is also worth noting that many varieties had fairly equal yields, separated by less than 1-2 bushels per acre in many situations and from a statistical perspective, the top 10 varieties in this trial were statistically equal. Use of historical yield values is more indicative of variety performance at this location.

6.       TEST WEIGHT and PROTEIN values were generally good at this location for soft white market class of wheat.