UC Davis Field Day, 11 May, 2017 Ongoing UC Alfalfa Cultivar Testing….

Does Variety Selection Make Any Difference?

Dan Putnam, Chris DeBen, Charlie Brummer, UC Davis

See: http://alfalfa.ucdavis.edu for current variety information Economics. The first question is whether money makes any difference. Obviously, it does. However, it’s actually a little difficult to determine whether variety selection makes an economic difference just by looking at a variety in a large field or even at a given time (a single cut) in a variety trial. They look almost the same. However, looking at yields over time shows significant genetic differences in yield as well as gross revenue due simply to variety choice.

Here is the analysis. The maximum differences in seed costs might be about $75/acre; e.g. the lowest cost seed might be $2.50 and the highest cost $5.50/lb at 25 lb./a (not counting biotech traits, which is a different calculation). It’s pretty easy to cover any increase in seed cost with superior yield – (see below chart) with hundreds or thousands of dollars/acre improvements. This is in addition to other characteristics like pest resistance or quality.

The Message: Take a few minutes to analyze the genetic potential of varieties-it’s probably worth your while.

What are the most important Characteristics of an Alfalfa Variety??

I. Fall Dormancy

effects: • Yield

• Quality

• Persistence

• Flooding tolerance

2002-2004 All Harvests

CUF101

WL711WF

DS681FQ SW 9720

WL625HQ

SW 741058N57

Acheiver

Dura 765

Aspire

Magna 601

Sutter

Tango

Archer II

Dura 512

54Q53

WL325HQ

Plumas

CUF101

WL711WF

DS681FQ

SW 9720

WL625HQ

SW 7410

58N57

Acheiver

Dura 765

Aspire

Magna 601

Sutter

TangoArcher II

Dura 51254Q53

WL325HQ

Plumas

y = 0.6154x + 24.315R2 = 0.9279

y = -0.0656x2 + 1.1679x + 5.6397R2 = 0.7418

8.5

9

9.5

10

10.5

11

11.5

3 4 5 6 7 8 9FALL DORMANCY SCORE

YIEL

D (t/

acre

)

25.5

26.0

26.5

27.0

27.5

28.0

28.5

29.0

29.5

30.0

Acid

Det

erge

nt F

iber

(ADF

%)

Yield

Quality

II. Yield Potential. Varietiesmayvaryalotinyield.However,doyouKNOWwhethertheyieldsaredifferentinaspecificvarietyinalargefields?Wehavecommonlyobservedyielddifferencesof20-30%atDaviswhichcanbeeconomicallyimportant.

2015-2016 YIELDS, UC DAVIS ALFALFA CULTIVAR TRIAL. TRIAL PLANTED 9/30/2014

FDReleased VarietiesUC Impalo 8 10.78 3) ( 7.99 1) ( 9.39 1) ( ADesert Sun 8.10 RR 8 10.79 2) ( 7.68 3) ( 9.23 2) ( A BAmeriStand 803T 8 10.52 8) ( 7.50 11) ( 9.01 6) ( A B C D E8R100 8 10.60 6) ( 7.39 14) ( 8.99 7) ( A B C D E FDG9212 9 10.29 14) ( 7.69 2) ( 8.99 8) ( A B C D E FSW9215 9 10.35 12) ( 7.57 9) ( 8.96 9) ( A B C D E F GUC415 9 10.68 4) ( 7.20 24) ( 8.94 11) ( A B C D E F GAmeriStand 715NT RR 7 10.27 15) ( 7.60 6) ( 8.94 12) ( A B C D E F G6R200 6 10.12 19) ( 7.35 17) ( 8.74 16) ( A B C D E F G H I9R100 9 10.10 20) ( 7.28 18) ( 8.69 17) ( B C D E F G H I JIntegra 8800 8 10.02 21) ( 7.25 22) ( 8.63 19) ( B C D E F G H I JCuf 101 9 10.15 17) ( 6.98 28) ( 8.56 20) ( B C D E F G H I JSW8421

-

S 8 10.13 18) ( 7.00 27) ( 8.56 21) ( B C D E F G H I JPacif ico 8 9.65 25) ( 7.39 13) ( 8.52 22) ( C D E F G H I JCamas 4 9.40 30) ( 7.62 5) ( 8.51 23) ( C D E F G H I JICON 6 9.70 24) ( 7.27 19) ( 8.48 24) ( D E F G H I JArriba II 6 9.54 28) ( 7.38 16) ( 8.46 25) ( D E F G H I JIntegra 8420 4 9.14 34) ( 7.50 12) ( 8.32 28) ( F G H I J KIntegra 8600 6 9.15 33) ( 7.25 21) ( 8.20 30) ( H I J K LNuMex Bill Melton 7 9.60 27) ( 6.76 33) ( 8.18 31) ( I J K L4R200 4 8.75 35) ( 6.57 35) ( 7.66 35) ( K LIntegra 8444 RR 4 8.28 36) ( 6.92 30) ( 7.60 36) ( L

Experimental VarietiesSW 8208 8 10.81 1) ( 7.55 10) ( 9.18 3) ( A B CR89M935 9 10.58 7) ( 7.59 7) ( 9.08 4) ( A B C DSW 8357 8 10.51 9) ( 7.63 4) ( 9.07 5) ( A B C DSW 8421

-

RRS 8 10.33 13) ( 7.59 8) ( 8.96 10) ( A B C D E F GUC 2671 9 10.61 5) ( 7.22 23) ( 8.91 13) ( A B C D E F GCW058071 8 10.50 10) ( 7.26 20) ( 8.88 14) ( A B C D E F G HR88T829 9 10.17 16) ( 7.39 15) ( 8.78 15) ( A B C D E F G H IR99T939 8 10.50 11) ( 6.82 32) ( 8.66 18) ( B C D E F G H I JSW 9215

-

RRS 9 9.84 23) ( 6.91 31) ( 8.37 26) ( E F G H I JUC2693 9 9.97 22) ( 6.70 34) ( 8.34 27) ( E F G H I J KSW 6334 6 9.48 29) ( 7.13 25) ( 8.31 29) ( G H I J KCW096043 6 9.29 31) ( 7.05 26) ( 8.17 32) ( I J K LArtesian Sunrise 7 9.26 32) ( 6.96 29) ( 8.11 33) ( I J K LUC 410 9 9.62 26) ( 6.41 36) ( 8.01 34) ( J K L

MEANCVLSD (0.1)

Trial seeded at 25 lb/acre viable seed on Yolo clay loam at the Univ. of California Agronomy Farm, Davis, CA.Entries follow ed by the same letter are not signif icantly different at the 10% probability level according to Fisher's (protected) LSD.FD = Fall Dormancy reported by seed companies.

0.86 0.67 0.68

Dry t/a

9.99 7.26 8.627.23 7.71 6.63

2015Yield

2016Yield Average

TABLE 3. 2012-2014 YIELDS, UC DAVIS ALFALFA CULTIVAR TRIAL. TRIAL PLANTED NOV. 2, 2011

FDReleased VarietiesCatalina 9 7.2 3) ( 12.2 1) ( 11.8 1) ( 10.4 1) ( ASaltana 9 7.0 7) ( 12.1 4) ( 11.4 2) ( 10.1 2) ( A BFGI R96Bx308 9 7.1 6) ( 12.0 7) ( 10.9 6) ( 10.0 4) ( A B C DGrandSlam 8 6.8 9) ( 11.7 13) ( 10.9 5) ( 9.8 5) ( A B C D E6610N 6 6.7 11) ( 12.2 2) ( 10.5 15) ( 9.8 6) ( A B C D EWestar 8 7.1 4) ( 11.9 8) ( 10.1 23) ( 9.7 7) ( A B C D E F WL 440HQ 6 7.2 2) ( 12.0 6) ( 9.9 34) ( 9.7 8) ( A B C D E F GIntegra 8600 6 6.6 12) ( 12.1 3) ( 10.4 18) ( 9.7 9) ( A B C D E F GAmeriStand 803T -EM09 9 5.7 42) ( 11.7 12) ( 11.2 4) ( 9.6 12) ( A B C D E F G HFGI R66Bx311 6 6.6 13) ( 11.8 10) ( 10.3 20) ( 9.6 13) ( A B C D E F G HArriba II 6 6.3 25) ( 11.5 17) ( 10.9 7) ( 9.5 14) ( A B C D E F G H WL 454HQ.RR 6 6.4 20) ( 11.5 15) ( 10.7 10) ( 9.5 15) ( A B C D E F G H I 6R100 6 6.9 8) ( 11.8 11) ( 9.8 38) ( 9.5 16) ( A B C D E F G H IAmeriStand 803T (Opt-Gold+) 9 6.6 17) ( 11.2 24) ( 10.6 13) ( 9.5 17) ( A B C D E F G H I JHybriForce-2600 6 6.6 15) ( 11.5 14) ( 10.1 27) ( 9.4 18) ( B C D E F G H I J KGunner 5 6.0 34) ( 11.9 9) ( 10.1 25) ( 9.3 20) ( B C D E F G H I J K LDS611 6 6.5 19) ( 11.3 23) ( 10.2 22) ( 9.3 22) ( B C D E F G H I J K LFGI R57W213 5 6.3 22) ( 11.4 19) ( 10.0 31) ( 9.2 24) ( B C D E F G H I J K L MDKA65-10RR 6 6.3 23) ( 10.9 27) ( 9.9 33) ( 9.1 27) ( D E F G H I J K L M NAmeriStand 803T 8 6.4 21) ( 10.2 34) ( 10.3 19) ( 8.9 29) ( E F G H I J K L M N Pacifico 8 5.5 46) ( 9.8 42) ( 11.3 3) ( 8.8 32) ( F G H I J K L M NLa Jolla 9 5.9 37) ( 10.5 30) ( 10.0 29) ( 8.8 33) ( F G H I J K L M NFGI R57K138 5 6.1 29) ( 9.9 41) ( 10.4 17) ( 8.8 34) ( F G H I J K L M NFGI R65BD279 7 6.0 33) ( 10.4 33) ( 9.9 35) ( 8.8 35) ( G H I J K L M NFGI R56Bx214 4 6.6 16) ( 9.6 44) ( 9.5 43) ( 8.6 37) ( I J K L M NFGI R57K337 4 5.6 44) ( 10.0 35) ( 9.9 32) ( 8.5 38) ( J K L M NRevolt (RR) 6 6.0 31) ( 10.0 36) ( 9.6 42) ( 8.5 39) ( J K L M N Tango 6 5.3 47) ( 10.0 37) ( 10.0 28) ( 8.5 41) ( K L M N 8R100 8.5 6.0 35) ( 9.6 45) ( 9.8 39) ( 8.4 42) ( K L M NFGI R47OK215 4 5.9 36) ( 9.9 39) ( 9.4 44) ( 8.4 43) ( L M NIntegra 8800 8 5.7 43) ( 8.9 47) ( 10.6 11) ( 8.4 44) ( L M N 4R200 4 6.3 26) ( 9.7 43) ( 8.9 47) ( 8.3 46) ( M NDS815 8 6.0 32) ( 9.4 46) ( 9.3 46) ( 8.3 47) ( N

Experimental VarietiesSW 9106 9 7.4 1) ( 12.0 5) ( 10.6 12) ( 10.0 3) ( A B CSW 920 9 6.7 10) ( 11.5 16) ( 10.9 8) ( 9.7 10) ( A B C D E F GDS107444 7 6.6 14) ( 11.4 20) ( 10.8 9) ( 9.6 11) ( A B C D E F GSW 9107 9 7.1 5) ( 10.5 31) ( 10.6 14) ( 9.4 19) ( B C D E F G H I J KSW 8105 8 6.5 18) ( 11.0 26) ( 10.4 16) ( 9.3 21) ( B C D E F G H I J K LUC-410 9 6.2 28) ( 11.4 18) ( 10.2 21) ( 9.3 23) ( B C D E F G H I J K LUC-412 9 6.3 24) ( 11.3 21) ( 9.8 37) ( 9.2 25) ( C D E F G H I J K L M NSW 910 9 5.9 38) ( 11.3 22) ( 10.1 26) ( 9.1 26) ( C D E F G H I J K L M NUC-413 9 6.1 30) ( 11.2 25) ( 9.9 36) ( 9.0 28) ( D E F G H I J K L M NSW 900 9 5.9 39) ( 10.7 29) ( 10.1 24) ( 8.9 30) ( E F G H I J K L M NUC-409 9 6.2 27) ( 10.8 28) ( 9.7 40) ( 8.9 31) ( E F G H I J K L M NUC-411 9 5.5 45) ( 10.4 32) ( 10.0 30) ( 8.6 36) ( H I J K L M NUC-415 9 5.9 40) ( 9.9 40) ( 9.6 41) ( 8.5 40) ( K L M NUC-414 9 5.8 41) ( 10.0 38) ( 9.4 45) ( 8.4 45) ( L M N

MEANCVLSD (0.1)

Trial seeded at 25 lb/acre viable seed on Yolo clay loam soil at the Univ. of California Agronomy Farm, Davis, CA.Entries followed by the same letter are not significantly different at the 10% probability level according to Fishers (protected) LSD.FD = Fall Dormancy reported by seed companies.Cuf 101 was included in this trial, but data was eliminated due to doubts about the source of the seed.

11.3

Yield

0.85 NS 0.95 0.96

Dry t/a

6.32 10.94 10.23 9.16

Average

14.6 7.8 8.8

2012 2013 2014Yield Yield

III. Pest Resistance. Analfalfavarietyisa‘population’consistingofarangeofplanttypesinasinglevariety.Thus,alfalfavarietiestypicallyhavemorevariationwithinavarietythanmostothercropplants–bothanadvantageandadisadvantage.Thus,whenavarietyhasahighlevelofresistancetoapest,it’snot100%,but>50%oftheplantsthatareresistant.

Resistance Abbreviations Percent resistance1

HR Highly Resistant >51% R Resistant 31-50% MR Moderately Resistant 15-30% LR Low Resistant 6-14% S Susceptible <5%

Recommendations Sacramento/San Joaquin Valley: Fall Dormancy: 4-8 Rating Spotted Alfalfa Aphid (SAA): R Pea Aphid (PA) HR Blue Alfalfa Aphid (BAA): HR Pythopthora Root Rot (PRR). HR Bacterial Wilt (BW): MR Fusarium Wilt (FW): HR Stem Nematode: HR Root Not Nematode: HR Verticillium Wilt (VW) R REMEMBER: • Resistanceisnotabsolute(itisa%ofplantsinapopulation)• Evenhighlyresistantvarietiescanbeoverwhelmed.• PestResistanceisoftentheonlyeconomicmeasureagainstpess.• ThinkofPestResistanceasyoudoautoinsurance—notimportanteveryyear,butcanbeveryimportantinthoseyearswithseverepestpressure.

IV. Biotech Traits (RR) – Themostwidely-usedbiotechtraitiscurrentlyglyphosateresistance.AsecondbiotechtraitisHarvXtra:Areeitheroftheserightforyou? Roundup Ready Trait – considerations:

• Yourcurrentweedpressure&controlstrategysuccess—• Canyoujustifythecost(compareRoundupvs.conventionalweedcontrolcosts)?• DoyouhaveRoundup-resistantweeds?Weedshifts?• Shouldusemixedstrategyofoccasionalresidualconventionalherbicidewith

Roundupforhard-to-controlweedsandtopreventweedshifts/resistance• DoyourmarketsacceptGEcrops?(organic,no–export,currentlymostlyno)• Coexistencewithneighbors–don’timpactneighborswhomaybesensistivetoGE

traits. HarvXtra Trait Considerations:

• HarvXtra was de-regulated in 2014 • Mostly dormant varieties available currently (FD 4), but some FD 6-8 becoming

available in 2016-18 • HarvXtra (FGI International) which is genetically engineered are distinct from the Hi-

Gest lines (Alforex, Dow AgroSciences), which are non-GM • LOOK AT COMPARITIVE DATA – e.g. from the 2016 California Alfalfa Symposium

where both companies presented their products. Seed video and powerpoints at: http://alfalfa.ucdavis.edu/+symposium/2016/index.aspx - not all ‘low lignin’ products are the same.

• Will your markets reward quality? As measured? • Cost/benefit – impacts on yield as well as quality. • Markets accept GE traits (organic, no, exports currently no) • Coexistence with neighbors

V. Forage Quality. Varietiesdiffersomewhatinforagequality.Foragequalityisofgreatimportanceinalow-priceyear,suchas2015-17,buttendstobelessimportanttogrowersinahighpriceyear.Remember:

• Yieldsaremoreimportanteconomicallyquality(mostly),• FallDormancycangreatlyaffectquality(seeabove)• CuttingSchedulesareamuchmorepowerfulmethodtoimpactqualitythan

varieties.• Moredormantlinesenablegrowerstopaceharvestscheduleswithmoresuccess.• StandPersistencetendstobesomewhatsuperiorinmoredormantlinesthanin

non-dormantlines,especiallyvarietiessuchasCUF-101whichtendstogooutquicklyintheCentralValley.