Virginia Tech® home

Virginia Small Grain Forage Trials, 2024

ID

SPES-739NP

Authors as Published

Authored by Caleb Bishop, Research Specialist Senior, School of Plant and Environmental Sciences, Virginia Tech; Greg Lillard, Farm Manager, Northern Piedmont Center School of Plant and Environmental Sciences, Virginia Tech; Jitender Rathore, Graduate Research Assistant, School of Plant and Environmental Sciences, Virginia Tech; Matthew J. Wright, Research Assistant, School of Plant and Environmental Sciences, Virginia Tech; and Olga S. Walsh, Associate Professor - Grain Crops, Extension Specialist, School of Plant and Environmental Sciences, Virginia Tech

Introduction

A forage production trial of commercial barley, oats, rye, triticale, and wheat cultivars has been conducted yearly since 1994 at the Northern Piedmont Center, Orange, VA. Results from the 2023-24 crop season are presented in this report.

Season 2023-24

Growing Conditions

The 2023-2024 growing season was variable for Virginia producers. Heat and drought during the grain fill period led to rapid maturation and reduced grain test weight for the 2023-2024 growing season. Fortunately, precipitation throughout the region during mid- to late grain fill largely saved the small grain crop. Another period of heat and low precipitation at maturation helped mature the crop 1-2 weeks earlier than typical and allowed growers to get into the field to harvest with plenty of time. Disease pressure was high in some regions. Barley yellow dwarf virus had very high infection rates in Eastern and Southern Virginia, and especially in fields that were planted early.

Leaf rust came in earlier than typical in Eastern Virginia and the Eastern Shore and was particularly detrimental for those Eastern growers who did not apply fungicides to treat Fusarium Head blight (scab) infection. Powdery mildew was observed in Eastern Virginia but low pressure due to high temperatures and dry conditions shortly after disease onset. Fusarium head blight (scab) pressure was moderate across most of the state and came on slightly later than typical years.

Management Practices

Pre-plant fertilizer of 30-60-30 was applied on October 12, 2023. Plots were planted mid-October 2023 and were seven, seven-inch rows wide by 13 feet long, trimmed to 9 feet for harvest. Nitrogen, as UAN, was applied at a rate of 50 lb of N per acre along with 0.5 oz per acre Harmony Extra mid- February, and late March. All plots were targeted for harvest when each entry reached the boot stage (GS 45-50), and the average growth stage was 46 at the time of harvest. Two rows, the entire length of the plots, were harvested with a 12-inch Jari sickle-bar mower and weighed with an electronic hanging scale.

Results

Results are reported for 35 percent dry matter (DM) yield, DM yield, and nutritive value for all crops including mixtures.

Experimental plots vary in yield and other measurements due to their location in the field and other factors which cannot be controlled. The statistics given in the table and graph below are intended to help the reader make valid comparisons between cultivars. The magnitude of differences which may have been due to experimental error has been computed for the data and listed at the bottom of columns as the LSD (.05) (least significant difference with 95 percent confidence). Differences must be greater than LSD to be believed to truly exist.

Table 1. Small Grain Forage Variety Test, Northern Piedmont AREC, Orange, VA, 2023-24, boot stage harvest.

Cultivar Species

Harvest Date

Maturity Zadok’s

Height inches

CP % ADF % NDF % TDN % 35% DM Yield ton/a DM Yield ton/a

VA20W-142

Wheat

21-Apr

57

25.8

16.4

27.9

51.5

68.3

5.3

1.9

18VTK12-60

Wheat

15-Apr

46

22.5

19.0

29.8

52.7

66.9

4.9

1.7

VT Beahm

Barley

7-Apr

46

29.3

16.7

32.3

48.4

65.2

4.8

1.7

Nomini

Barley

7-Apr

42

26.0

18.2

30.3

45.6

66.6

3.9

1.4

Marouetta

Barley

9-Apr

45

29.0

15.8

28.1

46.6

68.2

5.4

1.9

KWS SH-06

Rye

15-Apr

48

34.3

16.9

35.9

56.5

62.7

5.1

1.8

KWS SH-07

Rye

9-Apr

45

31.0

18.5

29.5

52.2

67.2

5.4

1.9

KWS H95075

Rye

7-Apr

41

28.5

16.5

31.2

52.1

66.0

5.1

1.8

KWS H10129

Rye

21-Apr

51

34.3

16.4

34.6

54.6

63.6

6.1

2.1

KWS H238

Rye

15-Apr

46

29.0

16.4

34.6

54.6

63.6

4.2

1.5

KWS H240

Rye

15-Apr

45

31.3

16.2

35.9

56.4

62.7

4.8

1.7

KWS AVIATOR

Rye

15-Apr

44

28.8

17.0

34.0

55.4

64.0

5.3

1.9

KWS PROGAS

Rye

15-Apr

45

31.8

18.4

33.6

54.5

64.3

4.7

1.7

Surge

Triticale

28-Apr

55

35.3

14.6

32.1

53.1

65.4

7.4

2.6

Thor

Triticale

28-Apr

49

36.0

14.8

33.1

54.1

64.7

7.9

2.8

BCT23002

Triticale

22-Apr

47

30.0

14.8

29.9

53.1

66.9

6.2

2.2

BCT23003

Triticale

22-Apr

43

32.8

17.2

29.1

51.8

67.5

5.5

1.9

BCT23004

Triticale

22-Apr

44

33.3

16.7

30.2

52.8

66.7

7.0

2.5

Mean

 

 

 

30.5

16.7

31.8

52.6

65.6

5.5

1.9

CV

 

 

 

11.7

7.5

8.1

5.7

2.7

19.0

19

LSD (0.05)

 

 

 

5.06

1.7

3.6

4.3

2.6

1.5

0.52

CP – Crude Protein; ADF – Acid Detergent Fiber; NDF – Neutral Detergent Fiber; TDN – Total Dry Matter; 35% DM Yield – Dry Matter Yield @35% moisture; DM Yield – Dry Matter Yield.

Entries

KWS Cereals, 495 County Road 1300 N, Champaign, IL 61822 – KWS SH-06, KWS SH-07, KWS H95075, KWS H10129, KWS H238, KWS H240, KWS AVIATOR, KWS PROGAS.

Legacy Agripartners, 290 Depot Street, Scandinavia, Wisconsin 54977 – Surge, Thor.

Seed-Link Inc., 208 St. David Street, Lindsay, Ontario K9V 4Z4 – BCT23002, BCT23003, BCT23004.

Virginia Tech and Virginia Crop Improvement Association (VT and VCIA), 9142 Atlee Station Road, Mechanicsville, VA 23111 – VA20W-142, 18VTK12-60, VT Beahm, Nomini, Marouetta.


Virginia Cooperative Extension materials are available for public use, reprint, or citation without further permission, provided the use includes credit to the author and to Virginia Cooperative Extension, Virginia Tech, and Virginia State University.

Virginia Cooperative Extension is a partnership of Virginia Tech, Virginia State University, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), and local governments, and is an equal opportunity employer. For the full non-discrimination statement, please visit ext.vt.edu/accessibility

Publication Date

October 9, 2025