Guidelines for 2009 Forage Variety Testing

The plan of procedure and entry forms for the 2008 Iowa Crop Performance Testing--Forages Program are presented here.

To enter, complete: Alfalfa Variety Testing Entry Form

DATE: January

TO: Entrants of Iowa Crop Performance Testing—Forages

FROM: Mark Smith
1202 Agronomy Hall
Iowa State University
Ames, IA 50011
Phone: 515-294-7887
Fax: 515-294-5506
E-mail: smithma@iastate.edu

RE: Guidelines Forage Variety Testing

The plan of procedure and entry forms for the Iowa Crop Performance Testing--Forages Program are presented here. To enter: fill out the following entry form.

The deadline for entering is March 1st. Applications, entry fees, and seed must be postmarked by this date. The entry fee for alfalfa hay yield tests is $475. The entry fee for all other tests is $425.

We are offering the following 4-year alfalfa yield tests:

  1. Ames commercial & experimental test
  2. Ames PLH (unsprayed) test
  3. Nashua commercial & experimental test
  4. Ames cool-season grass test (3 years)

**We will also plant whole tests for companies on a contract basis. Please contact Mark Smith to discuss this type of testing.

**You need to request commercial alfalfa seed samples (100 g. per location) be sent to us, from the University of Wisconsin's central distribution network. If for some reason you cannot participate in the Wisconsin program, please contact me to work out an alternate arrangement. Experimental seed samples, need to be sent directly to us from the applicant. We will not test commercial alfalfa seed sent in by the applicant.

Continuing the policy of the Iowa Crop Improvement Association for the past several years, we will not change the names of experimental entries after they have been released. If you want data of a newly named variety to be reported to producers, the named variety must be entered into the current tests and seed must be available from commercially labeled bags. If you have any questions or comments about our tests, please do not hesitate to contact me. Thank you for your past and continued support. We anticipate another successful year of crop performance testing at Iowa State!


IOWA CROP PERFORMANCE TESTING-FORAGES

Iowa Crop Improvement Association

4611 Mortensen Road, Suite 101

Ames, IA 50014-6228

Iowa State University

Agriculture Experiment Station

Ames, IA 50011

PLAN OF PROCEDURE

The purpose of testing commercial varieties is to provide Iowa farmers and extension personnel with information on the performance of alfalfa and other forage crop varieties in the state. The purpose of testing experimental strains is to provide breeders and researchers with information on the performance of material that may become commercial varieties.

Privately developed varieties and experimental strains of alfalfa and designated other forage crops will be accepted for fee testing by the Iowa Crop Improvement Association (ICIA).

BLENDS ARE NOT ACCEPTED.

A. ELIGIBILITY OF ENTRANTS

Entries by private developers or merchandisers of forage crops: Application for testing will be made by company designation (name or number). A variety or strain may be entered only once in the test.

Entries by the Iowa Crop Improvement Association and the Iowa Agricultural Experiment Station (IAES): The Association and Experiment Station may enter varieties or experimental strains of interest in Iowa.

B. LOCATION OF TESTS

Alfalfa variety yield tests will be planted at the Brunner Research Farm 6 miles west of Ames, and at the Northeast Iowa Research Farm near Nashua.

C. DESCRIPTION OF TESTS

Entries will be sown in plots 12 feet long and consisting of five rows, six inches apart. Four replications of each entry will be included. All five rows of each plot will be harvested by a standard procedure for determination of dry matter yield. Each test will be harvested for three years beyond the seeding year unless all stands are depleted sooner. Test weights may be recorded during the establishment year provided satisfactory herbicide weed control. Data on other traits, including but not limited to stand establishment and persistence, maturity, reaction to disease and insects, and rate of recovery, will be taken when appropriate.

Commercial and experimental trials at Ames and Nashua will be sprayed for potato leafhopper control on an as-needed basis.

The Iowa Crop Improvement Association and the Iowa Agricultural Experiment Station assume no financial liability for failure to obtain stands due to unfavorable environmental conditions or failure of tests due to unexplained variability.

D. SEED REQUIREMENTS

Commercial varieties of alfalfa: The applicant should send a bag of seed labeled for commercial sale to the University of Wisconsin's seed distribution system from whom ICIA/IAES will obtain the seed. If the applicant cannot participate in this system, contact Mark Smith for possible alternate arrangements. Seed will be planted exactly as it is received from the commercial seed bag, without any additional scarification or seed treatment.

Experimental strains: The applicant must submit (to ICIA/IAES) a 100-gram sample of untreated seed for each test location. All seed will be inoculated with the correct Rhizobium strain by IAES personnel.

E. USE OF SEED

Seed received for entry in the test shall be used for testing and demonstration purposes only and will not be used for increase, breeding, or distribution.

F. ENTRY FEE

For alfalfa hay yield testing, a fee of $475 per entry will be charged for a four-year test at one location. For all other tests, a fee of $425 per entry will be charged. The entry fee must accompany the application for testing. If insufficient entries are received to justify the trial, the fee and seed will be returned.

Fees submitted should be for Forage Crop Testing only and not combined with payment for other crops. Fees are payable to the Iowa Crop Improvement Association.

G. DEADLINE FOR ENTRY

The application, entry fee, and seed (if applicable) should be postmarked by March 1st. The association reserves the right to reject any or all applications received after the deadline.

H. RIGHT TO REJECT

We reserve the right to reject any application under the following circumstances:

  1. The information requested on the application is incomplete,
  2. There is misrepresentation,
  3. The entry fee is not paid, and/or
  4. The entry has been entered by another company.

I. PUBLICATION OF RESULTS

The data will be analyzed statistically and summarized by the testing station each year. Each entrant will be provided a summary of the data annually. Here is a reminder of the ICIA Board of Directors' policy on crop performance testing:

Commercial check varieties should be retained in the experimental tests. Do not exchange an experimental designation with a variety name. The data released to the public will not contain the experimentals.

The results from the tests will be published in accordance with the policies established by the Iowa Agriculture Experiment Station and the Cooperative Extension Service.