LANSING, Mich. – The Michigan Wheat Program’s high management wheat trials report is now available online free for viewing and downloading.

The 2023 trials mark the 11th year high management wheat trials have taken place and the 30th year for wheat trials altogether in Michigan. According to the report, planting conditions last fall were near ideal for much of the state. Drier than normal conditions persisted, allowing for timely soybean and dry bean harvest. As a result, 670,000 acres of wheat were planted in Michigan last fall, up 200,000 acres from the year before.

Cooler than normal temperatures slowed wheat development in October and November. Despite early planting, wheat tiller development was not as advanced as many had planned.

Michigan State University (MSU) wheat systems specialist Dennis Pennington said the trials turned out well. “The yields turned out well, and in some places, they were higher than expected,” he said. “We were expecting lower than normal yields due to drought, but we were pleasantly surprised. Most of the state of Michigan was on the drought monitor this early summer.”

The report, prepared by Pennington and MSU wheat breeder Eric Olson, compares the results of conventionally grown wheat with high management grown wheat, which is a more intensive way of growing the crop. The high management trials included an additional 30 pounds of 28 percent nitrogen per acre. Delaro fungicide was applied at Feekes stage 6, and Prosaro to control fungal diseases at about the average flowering date in each location.

“The Michigan Wheat Program believes that high management practices will be increasingly important for wheat growers in the years to come,” said Jeff Krohn, chairman of the nine-member Michigan Wheat Program board and a wheat farmer in Owendale. “As we saw last year and in years past, high management production practices usually result in increased yields for most of the varieties enrolled in the performance trials. This report provides a wealth of information for farmers looking to improve the bottom line of their wheat crop. The key is to find the varieties that work best for you and consider input cost along with what works best with your management practices.”

Pennington said the report includes analyses of soft red and soft white wheat. “Pre-harvest sprout scores are in the report as well, which is a rather new feature of the report,” Pennington noted. Pre-harvest sprout is not a disease, but it is undesirable in that it reduces wheat milling quality.

The 2023 state of Michigan wheat performance trials, sponsored by the Michigan Wheat Program and done in conjunction with MSU, included plots in Isabella, Hillman, Ingham, Huron, Montcalm, Sanilac and Tuscola counties. Seed companies that had seed varieties entered in the trials included AgriMaxx Wheat Co., Albert Lea Seeds, DF Seeds Inc., Dyna-Gro Seed, Irrer Seed Farm, KWS Cereals, Michigan Crop Improvement Association, MSU, Synergy Ag, Wellman Seeds Inc. and Williamsfield Seed Co.

To view and save a copy of the wheat trials report, go online at, https://miwheat.org/wp-content/uploads/2023-Final-Report.pdf.