Berry’s Picks

Comanche County Has Top Yields in State Trials

Comanche County has the best farmers in the state, and I have proof. In the county we have several sets of state replicated research trials on various crops that are commonly grown in the area.

These trials allow us to test varieties in different locations to see what works best for each area and across the state. It also gives us an opportunity to test some experimental varieties that may or may not be the next best release. Two of these state trials are in cotton and peanuts.

The State Replicated Agronomic Cotton Evaluation (RACE) trials in Comanche County were planted on Rodney Stephens Indian Creek Farms and consisted of 10 varieties replicated 3 times. These were not small plot replications; each replication was .75 acres, so this was a very large set of research trials. The yield average across all 10 varieties was 2063 lbs./acre with a total average lint value per acre of $1106.00.

The top variety was DP 2020 at 2431 lbs./acre and a lint value of $1306.00/ acre. So, the average on all varieties was just over 4 bale/acre and the top variety was very close to 5 bales per acre. These were exceptional yields in a tough year. These averages easily topped all other locations in the state.

The 2020 State-Wide Peanut Trials location in Comanche County was on Mark Allison’s farm. Mark had some amazing yields on most all varieties. On Runners the average yield was 8015 lbs. with GA16HO leading the pack at 8546 lbs./acre. On Spanish the average was 7173 lbs. with OLE being the top producer at 7228 lbs./ acre. On Virginia varieties the average was 7571 lbs. and ACI 464 was the top Virginia producer at 8028 lbs./acre. We had 2 Valencia varieties with an average of 6098 lbs./acre and Tamval OL14 was the top producer at 6672 lbs./acre.

We also have a set of breeding trials that consist of mostly experimental varieties at Mark Allison’s farm. There were 23 cultivars in this set of trials. The average across the board for these was 7715 lbs./ acre. Once again Mark Allison’s peanut production tops all other state trials.

We do hope to continue with these trials and the many others we do across the county. We really appreciate our cooperators that have to put up with us disrupting their planting harvesting and other field operations to allow us to include these trials in their fields. You can find complete trial data on our website: https://comanche.agrilife. org/, you are always welcome to call or come by for copies of any of the research trial data.

Regardless of the crop, farmers ranchers and dairymen in Comanche County are the very best there is to offer and are working hard to keep us all fed and clothed.