Investigating Nitrogen Use Efficiency for Winter Wheat Quality in Organic Rotations in Nebraska
Investigators:
- Baenziger, P. S.
- Regassa, T. H.
- Little, R. S.
Summary
NW07505 excelled for the trait of “nitrogen use efficiency for bread quality.” NW07505 ranked with Lyman as the highest yielding cultivar, had a large gain in soil total N, was moderately low in soil mineral N depletion per bushel, and excelled for bread baking quality at the lowest protein content level. This distinction comes with a tradeoff: The high bread quality of NW07505 appeared to result from high Short Yield and a consequently low Flour Yield, which were consistent traits for NW07505 across years. This report should stimulate interest among farmers and bakers for the anticipated release of NW07505 on the market, while raising some concerns among millers about the low milling yield. NE06607 emerged as a star performer in this 3 year study, and must be resurrected as a potential cultivar for organic production. This is a welcome development, as NE06607 showed promise for its low DON vomitoxin content in trials in Vermont. On the other hand, NE07444, which had appeared to be a top performing line with excellent quality at low protein content, performed near the bottom of this set, next to our confirmed marginal bread quality cultivar, Overland.