North Dakota Agricultural Experiment Station and North Dakota State University (NDSU) Extension researchers test dry bean varieties for yield and quality characteristics on an annual basis. Variety selection guides summarize the results of these variety trials conducted in 2021. Summary guides for dry bean and all other major crops can be obtained at http://bit.ly/NDSUVarietyGuides. The PDFs can be downloaded and printed. On the same page, variety trial results for dry bean can be found by test location. Printed copies of selection guides also can be obtained from NDSU Extension county offices or from Agriculture Communication at NDSU.
Replicated bean trials are grown by main station and REC agronomists and harvested to generate the unbiased information that goes into these variety publications. The best way to select a high-yielding variety is to use data averaged across several locations and years. During the 2021 growing season, various locations in North Dakota experienced drought conditions, and in certain locations, trial yields were lower than normal.
“Selecting the right variety or hybrid can be one of the most critical steps in profitable production,” says Bob Bertsch, NDSU web technology specialist. “With so many varieties to choose from, variety selection can be challenging. We developed a new variety selection tool (https://vt.ag.ndsu.edu) to help farmers make their dry bean selections by accessing, sorting and visualizing variety trial data.”
The variety tool is part of the newly organized NDSU Ag Hub (www.ndsu.edu/agriculture/ag-hub). Farmers can select a crop and a specific trial location, and a sortable table will show the varieties, characteristics measured in the field, yield and quality traits observed. Each column can be sorted, so farmers can find the information needed quickly.
