The “Crop Production Guide 2009” has been released by the North Dakota Agricultural Experiment Station and North Dakota State University Extension Service. This is the 19th edition of the publication. The book has 271 pages of crop production information suited for producers and agricultural specialists.

“This publication has the 2008 climate summary, integrated pest management, soil test recommendations, variety trial information and research reports,” says Hans Kandel, NDSU Extension Service agronomist. Kandel compiled the information for this year’s guide.

“This is a comprehensive publication with variety information about our main crops, which include wheat, barley, oats, flax, field peas, lentils, canola, soybeans, dry edible beans and sunflowers,” Kandel says. “More detailed information will be available in specific crop variety publications as more of the data is analyzed.”

The best way to select a high-yielding variety is to use data averaged across several locations and years. Because weather conditions are unknown in advance, averaging across several years of data will identify a variety that yields well through differing weather conditions.

“Selecting a variety that has performed well in dry and moist conditions is the best way to identify a cultivar that does well, regardless of weather fluctuations,” Kandel says.

Variety trial data from all NDSU Research Extension Centers and for all crops can be found at http://www.ag.ndsu.edu/variety/index.htm.

Copies of the publication are available through county NDSU Extension Service offices for $10. Copies also are available through the NDSU Agriculture Communication Distribution Center’s publication Web site at http://www.ag.ndsu.edu/pubs, by calling (701) 231-7882 or sending an e-mail to ndsu.distributioncenter@ndsu.edu.

NDSU Agriculture Communication