Statewide Evaluation of Lentil Variety Performance (Montana Statewide Lentil Performance Trial) (2001)

Abstract

This report evaluates the performance of lentil varieties under different cropping conditions across Montana. Drought-like conditions persisted into the 2001 cropping year across much of Montana. Below normal growing season precipitation was recorded at all sites, with the Sidney site being the exception. The Sidney site had below normal moisture conditions at seeding and received much above normal precipitation in June. The Conrad site received only 2.28 inches of precipitation during the growing season (April 26th - July 25th), of which 1.53 inches fell in June. Looking at multi-year variety yields compared to Laird green lentil at all locations, indicated that most varieties perform equal to or better than Laird, except for at the Huntley site, where Laird tended to do better than the majority of the other lentils evaluated (Table 16). By comparing yields from the 2001 field season to the statewide four-year (1998-2001) average (Tables 12 and 16, respectively), lentil production, under dryland environments, in 2001 was 91% of the four-year statewide trial average (923 lbs/acre and 1,019 lbs/acre, respectively). With an average dryland grain production of 1,159 pounds per acre, CDC Richlea green lentil has been the highest statewide grain yielding lentil over four years of testing. Moccasin lentil yields were the only dryland site where 2001 lentil production was greater than that sites four-year average (1,137 and 1,114 lbs/acre, respectively). Lentil yields in the 2001 season at Corvallis were 166% of that sites two-year average (2,255 and 1,361 lbs/acre, respectively) and over 700 pounds more production than the four site-year irrigated average of 1,512 pounds per acre. Over the four years of statewide lentil evaluations, the dryland grain yields averaged 1,019 pounds per acre, with Sidney, Bozeman and Moccasin having the highest average yields. Under irrigation, lentil production averaged 1,512 pounds per acre in from 1998 through 2001.