The highest yields of winter cereals were obtained when the sum of precipitation in September and October was over 150 mm on light soils and medium soils (excepting winter barley). Depending on the amount of precipitation and soil compactness the optimum irrigation doses were from 50 to over 150 mm for winter wheat, up to 150 mm for spring wheat and up to 100 mm for spring barley. The yield increase of winter wheat reached 0.5-1.4 t/ha, spring wheat 0.8-0.9 t/ha and spring barley 0.2-1.0 t/ha. The amount of the most favourable irrigation dose and the effect of irrigation were negatively correlated with the amount of spring-summer precipitation.

After the application of fungicides on winter wheat and spring barley fields during vegetation the incidence of fungal diseases was observed. The fungicides Tilt and Bayleton 25 WP reduced effectively the incidence of rust (Puccinia hordei, Puccinia graminis) and that of powdery mildew (Erysiphe graminis) on spring barley and winter wheat. The economic effect of controlling fungal diseases on cereals in the province Lublin amounted to 949.76 tons of wheat

In spite of the success of semidwarf wheats (Triticum aestivum L.) throughout the world, there are currently no adapted semidwarf hard red winter wheat cultivars with sufficient winterhardiness being grown in Montana and the Northern Great Plains. Studies were initiated to determine the suitability of short stature winter wheats for Montana. Selected agronomic traits were evaluated in 20 ‘Yogo’ winter wheat isogenic height lines and the recurrent parent, Yogo, representing three plant height phenotypes: dwarf, semidwarf, and tall. Yogo is a hard red winter wheat cultivar adapted to harsh winters and low rainfall. Significant differences (P < 0.01) among plant height phenotypes were observed for percent emergence, emergence rate, coleoptile length, test weight, and grain yield. Percent emergence, emergence rate, and coleoptile length were all positively associated with plant height, with linear coefficients of determination of 0.79,0.76, and 0.65, respectively. Grain yield was negatively correlated with plant height (r² = 0.77). Average grain yields over four Montana locations were 1486,1287, and 996 kg ha⁻¹ for the dwarf, semidwarf, and tall plant height phenotypes, respectively. There were no significant differences among phenotypes for crown depth. No winter-kill was observed among isolines at any location, including one at which other winter wheats had differential winter injury ranging from 30 to 100% winter survival. Backcrossing of the rht, and rht2 semidwarfing genes into the Yogo genetic background resulted in no apparent effect on winterhardiness. In spite of short coleoptiles and poor field emergence, short stature winter wheat appears well suited to Montana and the Northern Great Plains dryland wheat growing areas, particularly in areas with a high production potential.

Cluster analysis was conducted using the coefficients of parentage (r) between all pairwise combinations of 110 recently released or historically important red winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) cultivars. The objectives were to determine the overall pattern of relationships and to search for genetic clusters within the soft red winter (SRW) and hard red winter (HRW) wheat gene pools. The two classes contained overlapping germplasm (r̄ between the two classes = 0.05). Thirty-eight SRW cultivars formed six clusters based on predominant parents (‘Arthur’, ‘Benhur’, ‘Coker 68-15’, ‘Lucas’, ‘Knox’, and ‘Blueboy’), whereas 49 HRW cultivars formed seven clusters (based on ‘Triumph’, ‘Sturdy’, ‘Scout’, ‘Blackhull’- ‘Tenmarq’, ‘Turkey’, ‘Parker’-‘Centurk’, and ‘Warrior’). Principal coordinate analysis separated these 13 clusters primarily by class (HRW vs. SRW), but also by geographical origin of predominant parents within classes. These results may have application in parental selection for conventional cultivar, hybrid cultivar, and population development in winter wheat.

Field studies were conducted with winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L. ‘Centurk 78’) at nine locations in southwestern, central, and eastern Nebraska in 1982 and 1983 to determine the effect of phosphorus (P) placement depth (0, 5, 10, and 15 cm). As a comparison to these depths, seed placed P, soil surface placed P, and no P treatments were used. A rate of 11 kg P ha⁻¹ was applied. Soil great groups were either Argiustolls or Argiudolls with surface soil Bray and Kurtz no. 1 P levels ranging from 4 to 9 mg kg⁻¹ and pH values ranging from 5.5 to 7.5. Grain yield was increased by added P in both years though magnitude of response varied at different locations. A linear and quadratic response to depth was evident in both years, though variation occurred between locations. Optium depths of P placement for maximum grain yield occurred at 11.9 cm in 1982 and 10.4 cm in 1983. No differences between either the best depth (10 cm) and seed treatments or the surface and seed treatments were found, indicating that, depending on management situations, these methods of P application could be used interchangeably. Total P uptake was increased by P applications in a manner similar to grain yield. Phosphorus uptake of the seed treatment and the best depth treatment at several growth stages (Feekes' stages 2.0, 6.0, 10.0, 10.5, and 11.4) was compared. An early advantage (stage 2.0) of the seed treatment was not evident at harvest, indicating that early P uptake is not necessary for maximum yield. The number of heads and seed weight were both increased due to applied P in both years and seed weight responded linearly to depth in 1982. No effect on the seed number per head was found.

1985 in Schleswig-Holstein winter wheat was infested by the Cephalosporium leaf stripe disease, hitherto not described from this land of the Federal Republic of Germany. The symptoms were caused by the fungus Hymenula cerealis Ellis et Everh. (stat. conid. Cephalosporium graminearum Nisakado et Ikata), a soil-borne pathogen which invades through damaged roots. The first scattered symptoms were detected in the first decade of July, in the last decade of July the epidemic was manifest (Fig. 1-3). Narrow returns of winter wheat in crop-rotation, accumulation of inoculum during the cool and rainy autumn, early sowing, and damage of the roots by freezing-up of the ground (uprooted by frost), provided opportunity for this calamity