Triticale: 35% increase in tons per acre

BACKGROUND

Production Year: 2023

Location: Lovington, NM

Program: UpTerra Water and Row Crop General Wellness

• Planting Date: 10/01/23
• Harvest Date: 05/16/23
• Acres: 102
• Seed Variety: VNS
• Flow Device: 8-Inch
• Set Up: Separate Control Field

Challenge(s):
Having enough water to maximize crop yield and silage quality.

Goal(s):
Maximize biomass for silage.

METHODS

• Soil type and slope were evaluated to confirm comparability between both fields (Figure 1). 
• Weather and historical performance were considered during the setup and analysis phase of the case study.
• Fertilizer rates, planting populations and dates, irrigation rates, and harvest dates remained consistent between control and treatment fields. 
• Industry-standard scouting techniques were implemented throughout the season to monitor early crop development. 
• Historical and in-season satellite imagery was captured based on 10-day intervals when weather conditions permitted and evaluated using the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) 
• Scale tickets were collected to compare final yield results.

Data Collected

• Yield – Scale Tickets
• Satellite Imagery
• Scouting – General
• Historic Data

Soil Map Data

Figure 1: All soil types were loams with minimal variation. Crossover in soil types between fields was observed (Ph, St, Kh, Le).

Weather

The growing season started abnormally wet with actively stormy weather patterns causing above-average rainfall and cooler temperature averages in the SE New Mexico region for about two months. These weather patterns ceased, and the precipitation levels decreased to be low average while temperatures remained 2 to 3 degrees below average. Lack of precipitation and high wind speeds created several wind storms throughout the early spring until harvest.

RESULTS

Yield

Based on the scale tickets, the UpTerra treatment generated a 35% increase in tons and pounds per acre of harvested silage compared to the control field.

Satellite Imagery

The satellite imagery taken during the 2023 growing season shows typical biomass accumulation of the control field (left) and treatment field (right) during early-season crop development. Deeper shades of green indicate more crop biomass and healthy plant growth.