Auburn University
Variety Testing Program
Variety selection is the most important decision a farmer can make. If farmers want to be successful, they must ensure that they plant varieties that are well adapted. If a farmer selects the wrong variety, the results can be catastrophic. Typically, farmers do not have the resources to conduct variety trials in addition to their normal growing season activities.
Variety evaluation is also critical to plant breeders, both from universities and industry. Prior to releasing a new variety, these breeders typically evaluate their lines in independent variety trials. This ensures that they have unbiased data from multiple years and locations to support the release of their new variety.
The mission of the Auburn University Variety Testing Program is to provide research-based, unbiased results on the performance of various crop hybrids, cultivars, and varieties to the agricultural community in Alabama. We are intent on conducting these trials in a manner that will result in maximum biological yield through methods common to the top-producing farms in Alabama.
We are committed to providing this information in a timely manner for its use during the decision-making process. The success of the program rests on our ability to help Alabama producers provide a safe, dependable source of food and fiber for all families as well as an economic sustainability for theirs.
Henry Jordan
Variety Testing Manager, Research Associate IV
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Annually, the Auburn University Variety Testing Program conducts trials on corn, cotton, soybeans, peanuts, grain sorghum, wheat, barley, oats, triticale, small grain forages, and ryegrass.
Trials are conducted on Auburn University owned and operated agricultural research stations across the major geographical regions of the state. The research conducted at each of these locations can provide stakeholders with data that can be more representative of their growing conditions.
Variety Selection Platform – Training Video
Medius Ag has created another training video for Auburn University's Variety Selection Platform. The video is bookmarked for convenience and the topics covered are listed below. Please note that in order to have access to the "Data Center" feature, users must first...
AU Variety Selection Platform
Auburn University has partnered with Medius Ag to create a variety selection tool for cotton and peanuts. The end result is not just a tool, but a toolbox with multiple tools that will allow users to look at small plot variety trial data and large plot on-farm data...
Performance of Small Grain Forages in Alabama, 2020-2021
These trials were conducted through collaboration with Auburn University, the University of Georgia, and the University of Florida. April 23 - Yield data is avaialable for wheat, triticale, oat, and rye forages at both locations. Forage yields for the dual...
Alabama Public Television Highlights Auburn-HudsonAlpha Collaboration
Alabama Public Television's episode of "Spotlight of Agriculture" aired on February 18, 2021 and focused on Auburn University's collaboration with HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology. One of the highlights is the malting barely research that will hopefully lead to...
Cotton Variety Selection – Wiregrass Virtual Cotton Expo 2021
The Wiregrass Cooperative Extension Team conducted a virtual cotton expo on February 15, 2021. In this featured video, Dr. Steve Brown, Cotton Extension Agronomist, discusses variety selection and how to use the data provided by the Auburn University Variety Testing...
2021 Beef Forage Field Day
The Wiregrass Research & Extension Center is hosting a Beef – Forage Field Day Friday, March 26, 2021 on site. Please plan to join us and learn first-hand about the current beef and forage research projects and demonstrations on the research farm. The field day...