02/20/07 Grain varieties and straw decomposition

Farm and Ranch February 20, 2007 Sometimes you want straw residue from a grain crop to breakdown quickly and sometimes you don't, depending upon where you are. Ann Kennedy of the ARS at Pullman says she is working on a project to determine if there are varietal differences in straw decomposition. Kennedy: "In the high rainfall zones like here in Pullman we have too much residue and it doesn't decompose fast enough, but in the Lacrosse area where there is lower rainfall we want straw around so there is more incorporated into organic matter. So if we can look at those different cultivars and see how they differ in their straw composition and then compare it to their degradation or their decomposition in the field, could we get an idea for growers of which cultivars they would be interested in as far as residue decomposition." Kennedy says that of course yield is most important factor for a grower but residue decomposition could be another factor a producer could look at. The research is looking at cultivars of both winter and spring wheat and spring barley. Kennedy made a presentation on the project at the recent research review of the Columbia Plateau Wind Erosion Project. As of yet there are no research results to report. I'm Bob Hoff and that's the Northwest Farm and Ranch Report on the Northwest Ag Information Network.