Variety choice influences soft red winter wheat yield more than seed treatment

Seed treatments are commonly used to protect most major crops in the United States from seed- and soil-borne pathogens. In winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) systems in the North Central United States, target pathogens include both true fungi like Fusarium spp. or Rhizoctonia spp. and oomycetes like Pythium spp. or Globisporangium spp. Potential benefits of seed treatments may include improved germination and emergence, protection against early season diseases, and improved plant vigor, but there is little recent research on the benefits of seed treatments in winter wheat in the North Central United States. Field experiments were established at 10 locations across Wisconsin, Indiana, and Michigan in 2021 and 2022 to evaluate the effect of seed treatments on winter wheat yield. The trial design was a randomized complete block with four replications. Treatments were a factorial of two varieties, Harpoon and Kaskaskia, and five seed treatments, non-treated control, Athena-R, CruiserMaxx Vibrance Cereals, Stamina F4, and Raxil Pro MD/Shield. The variety Harpoon resulted in greater yield and lower test weight than Kaskaksia. The only seed treatment to affect yield was Athena-R when applied to the Harpoon variety. No other seed treatment significantly impacted yield. Results of this study suggest that while seed treatments can provide yield protection, variety selection had a bigger role in overall yield potential.