|
West TN | On Saturday, we cut the first of our replicated test plots. In this trial we were testing to see if there was any yield drag from saving the same variety of wheat seed year after year vs purchasing and planting the same variety of certified seed.
This variety is a variety that has performed exceedingly well for us over the many years. However, the last three years, I have had below average wheat yields and wanted to test if saving my seed and planting it year after year was a factor in the yield decline.
Many agronomists will say that after 3-5 years of saving, cleaning, and planting the same variety of seed, you will see yield declines. No one has been able to tell me definitively why, but the common consensus is that you lose genetic purity after so many years. We are very careful in segregating different varieties that we are saving but acknowledge that there are possibilities for contamination.
So last fall, we planted a replicated plot with a variety of seed that we had been saving for at least 6-7 years. We also planted that same certified variety for comparison. We planted five replications of each to isolate as many variables as possible.
You can see the results for yourself below. But before discussing the results, I want to throw out a caveat. The weights recorded came off of my calibrated yield monitor. The yield monitor has consistently been reading within 1.5% of actual scale tickets. As you can see, the first two plots were disqualified due to issues we were having because of fluctuating readings in the scale we were using. We then had to start recording each plot on the yield monitor. So while I am very confident in the accuracies of the measurements I am publishing, I am not 100% confident in the results. I despise using a yield monitor (calibrated or not) to gather data like this. But it's the best we had on Saturday.
As you can see, yields are excellent this year and there was less than a bushel/acre difference in the certified seed and the seed I have been saving for many years. I have not run statistical analysis, but I would be shocked if those results are statistically different.
In my experience, accounting for the value of the seed not being able to sell it and the cost of getting it cleaned, there is about a 60% savings in cost in saving your own seed vs buying certified seed. Hopefully these results will provide clarification and confidence for you in making your decisions this fall on the possibility of saving and planting your own seed. As always, I encourage you to check to make sure that your seed is not patent protected and you can legally save and plant your own seed.
 (IMG_3785 (full).jpeg)
Attachments
----------------
 IMG_3785 (full).jpeg (93KB - 2 downloads)
| |
|
Field drag from saving wheat seed replicated plot
