By Clark Neely
For Washington growers considering future wheat variety options, there’s now an app for that. It’s the WSU Variety Testing Program’s mobile Cereal Variety Selection Tool and it’s available free at your favorite app store. Like the desktop version of the app, growers can utilize the tool to filter and sort wheat and barley varieties based on a multitude of characteristics that are most important to them and their operation. Yield, test weight, grain protein, plant height, and maturity data are all generated from the variety trials themselves and averages are generated by precipitation zone for all major classes of wheat and barley. Users can also screen varieties by other parameters that include winter survival, disease ratings, hessian fly resistance, end use quality, falling number ratings and more.
The biggest difference users will notice in the mobile app is the streamlined format for easy scrolling. Some of the sort options are also improved so that missing values are automatically sorted to the bottom. Another major advantage is the mobile app will automatically update when new data is added to the website and data will be stored on the mobile device for viewing even without internet connectivity.
“It is very easy to read and to sort on my phone,” said one Washington farmer in a WSU survey.
Additionally, this app allows users to select and compare variety yield, test weight and grain protein across multiple precipitation zones, which is not currently possible with the current desktop version. This will be beneficial for seed dealers and distributors along with many growers who farm across multiple rainfall zones. If you like to look at information on paper, you can also export results into an Excel file for later viewing, sharing or printing.
You can find the app on the Google Play store or Apple App Store, just search for “WSU Variety Selection”.
Once you try it out for yourself, WSU would like your feedback! Please click here to complete the user survey.
This article is republished from the October 2021 issue of Wheat Life Magazine.
Clark Neely, Ph.D.
Clark Neely, Ph.D., is the cereal variety testing lead and extension agronomist at Washington State University. His research interests include dryland cropping systems and advancing cereal variety testing. Read more about Dr. Neely.