Agronomic Performance Of Heterogeneous Cereal Populations

Summary

Results from comparative field trials of heterogeneous winter wheat and maize populations marketed in Germany under the temporary experiment 2014/150 of the European Commission are presented. Winter wheat populations were tested across 16 environments (four locations x four years) and eight maize populations were tested in six environments (three locations x two years) under organic conditions. In terms of yield and quality parameters both the wheat and maize populations indicated good agronomic performance. The wheat populations demonstrated yield levels and baking quality characteristics comparable to pure line varieties ranked in the highest German quality category (E). The maize populations yielded up to 85% of the hybrid reference varieties. An important future perspective will be the design of field trials for populations in order to test and quantify their special characteristics, e.g. adaptive capacity and suitability for low input conditions.