Battle for the Belt: Season 3, Episode 19: Ohio Wheat Performance Test

Season 3, Episode 19 of Battle for the Belt is now available: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x-_D0t9GG74

In Episode 19, Dr. Laura Lindsey and Ohio Wheat Performance Trial Research Technician, Matt Hankinson, discuss the 2025 Wheat Performance Test.

https://ohiocroptest.cfaes.osu.edu/wheattrials/

Wheat is a valuable crop to have in rotation with corn and soybean. In recent crop rotation trials funded by Ohio Corn and Wheat, results have shown an average yield increase of 5 bu/acre for soybean when wheat is included in the crop rotation. Therefore, wheat is beneficial to have alongside corn and soybean crops in a rotation.

The 2025 Wheat Performance Test, Ohio’s wheat variety testing program, was wrapped up in July. There are five locations for this study across Ohio: Clark, Wayne, Wood, Union, and Pickaway counties. At these five locations, 76 varieties were evaluated. The five-county average yield this season ranged from 75.8 bu/acre to 101.2 bu/acre. This yield difference of about 25 bushels per acre shows the importance of variety selection to maximize yield.

In addition to yield, disease resistance is a key factor to consider in variety selection. In this year’s trial the top five yielding varieties were either resistant or moderately resistant to Fusarium head blight, which has the potential to be a devastating disease. Infection of Fusarium head blight is weather dependent, and this season had frequent rains and warm weather, which is a favorable environment for disease development. These conditions exacerbate the need for resistant and moderately resistant varieties in Ohio.

There are two ways to access the performance trial results; the first is the Ohio’s Country Journal mid-August issue that will be published in a few weeks and the Ohio Crop Performance website: https://ohiocroptest.cfaes.osu.edu/wheattrials/  

Field Update and Crop Update

The Western location has corn entering R4 (Dough Stage) (Table 1). At this stage the kernels have a matte finish rather than a glossy yellow. Starch accumulation is continuing to increase, creating more kernel dry matter. Stress at this stage does not result in kernel abortion but smaller kernels (or lower weight). Planting date two and three (5/12 and 5/27) both showed issues with lodging this past week. There was evidence of corn rootworm damage with adults feeding on silks (Figure 1). Root lodging was also present, further investigation of the root system is necessary to verify the cause of root lodging. The dominant disease at the Western location continues to be Gray Leaf Spot.

At the Northwest location, planting date four (planted 5/29) corn demonstrated tassel wrap (Figure 2). Tassel wrap is a developmental abnormality of corn, when the uppermost leaves remain wrapped around the tassel instead of opening as normal; which reduces pollen availability and can lead to incomplete kernel set in ears. The effect is driven by environmental conditions, including rapid heat unit accumulation and ample moisture. The tassel wrap can also be hybrid specific. Scouting affected fields for the remainder of the season is recommended (learn more here). Overall disease pressure at this location has been low.

The Wooster location corn has Northern Corn Leaf Blight presence, but other growth is normal. Soybeans at all three locations are low in disease pressure, other than Septoria Brown Spot. Most soybean planting dates are at the reproductive stages, except for planting date 5 in Wooster and Northwest. Environmental conditions and stages for each crop, planting date, and location are available in Table 1.

Table 1. Precipitation, soil temperature, average air temperature, and cumulative GDDs at the Western Agricultural Research Station, the Northwest Agricultural Research Station, and Wooster Campus. Weather data retrieved from: https://weather.cfaes.osu.edu/. 

Keep following the ‘Battle for the Belt’ this growing season to learn more and get further updates! You can find the full video playlist of Battle for the Belt on the Ohio State Agronomy YouTube channel.