GrainsWest Spring 2021

Winter 2021 Grains West 20 n February 2020, Eric Watson of Ashburton, New Zealand, produced a new world record wheat yield. At an incredible 258.8 bu/ac, his 21-acre irrigated crop was grown in the country’s South Canterbury region where the average wheat yield is a respectable 178 bu/ac. It was his second such record yield confirmed by the Guinness World Records organization. While the reproduction of such massive output on the Prairies is perhaps not a realistic goal, Watson’s repeat records illustrate the untapped yield potential in every kernel no matter where it is grown. I Farmers and researchers push through the wheat yield ceiling BY LEE HART • PHOTOS COURTESY OF BAYER CROPSCIENCE THE YIELD GAP CHALLENGE FEATURE