Variety selection guides are available for all of the major crops grown in North Dakota.

These guides summarize the results of variety trials conducted in 2017 by the North Dakota Agricultural Experiment Station and North Dakota State University Extension Service and can be found at http://bit.ly/NDSUVarietyGuides, where they can be downloaded and printed.

Printed copies also can be obtained from NDSU Extension Service county offices or from Print and Copy Services at NDSU.

"This is a comprehensive publication series with variety information about North Dakota's main crops, which include barley, oats, rye, canola, corn, dry edible beans, dry field peas, durum, flax, hard red spring and winter wheat, soybeans and sunflowers," says Hans Kandel, NDSU Extension Service broadleaf crops agronomist.

The agronomic data presented in the variety trial publications are from replicated research plots that allow for rigorous comparisons of the tested varieties or hybrids.

"Thousands of plots are grown and harvested to generate the unbiased information that goes into these publications," says Joel Ransom, NDSU Extension cereal crops agronomist.

Ransom adds, "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 the right variety or hybrid can be one of the most critical steps in profitable production," Kandel says. "With so many varieties to choose from, variety selection can be challenging.

"When selecting a high-yielding variety, also pay attention to the disease ratings, quality components of the variety and tolerance to various stress situations."

Additional information for some of the crops is available on NDSU's Variety Trial Results page at https://www.ag.ndsu.edu/varietytrials.