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Show 1 Selecting Spring Grain Varieties By Louis A. Jensen, Extension Agronomist Where soil moisture is ample or early irrigation water is available, avail-able, farmers should plant spring grain as early as they can wrork the land and prepare a seedbed, advises Wallace Sjoblom, county coun-ty agricultural agent. Farmers should use high quality qual-ity seed of an adopted variety, preferably certified seed. The fol- lowing varieties have been tested test-ed and are recommended for Utah: Barley: Bonneville is a high-yielding high-yielding variety for growing on fertile soil with a good supply of irrigation water. It has stiff straw and therefore resists lodging lodg-ing or falling down just before harvest time. Velvon is still a popular barley for spring plant ing, both on irrigated and dry land. It has smooth awns and fairly still straw. Both of these varieties are quite resistant to smut. Oats: This grain usually will not produce as much feed per acre as barley in Utah, However, where it is desired, Overland is a good variety. It yields well on good land, is smut resistant and has a short, stiff straw. Wheat: Where a good wheat is wanted for irrigated land. Lemhi Lem-hi (or the new Lemhi 53) is the leading variety. This is soft white wheat with stiff straw and good smut resistance. It has yielded well In most parts of the state. Most of the dry land wheat in Utah is seeded in the fall to winter varieties. Where stands become thin or spotted due to winter killing, Komar, Supreme and Lee are good varieties to thicken up these stands. These are all hard red wheats. Baart1 is still recommended for spring! seeding on dry lands which are' marginal or where a white wheat is desired. Utah farmers want three main characteristics in the grain they pick for seeding, high yield, disease dis-ease resistance, and stiff straw to prevent lodging on irrigate! land. All the varities recx)mir!id-ed recx)mir!id-ed above have been developed! and selected for these qualities 'the county agent states. |