Preliminary Results from a Study of the Effect of Deer Browsing on Bearded and Unbearded Wheat Yield
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Location
Saratoga Springs, NY
Start Date
4-5-2009 12:00 AM
Description
Wheat is an important agronomic crop that is a common winter food source for white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) in agricultural landscapes. In 2007 and 2008, I investigated spatial and temporal browsing on 2 types of wheat (bearded and unbearded) in fields bordered on one side by a forest. I placed 960 4.6 m2 plots in the middle of 10 m distance classes (5m, 15m, 25m, 35m, 45m, 55m). In 2007, I systematically assigned 1 of 2 treatments (no protection, protected at planting), and in 2008, I added a third treatment, protected prior to heading. After head emergence, I conducted weekly browse surveys and collected biomass samples. I harvested a 1 m2 area in the middle of each plot to determine yield . We used a two-way ANOVA with the main effects of wheat type and protection to determine the impact on yield. The main effects did not interact to affect yield either year (P>0.05). In 2007, bearded wheat yielded 523.7 kg/ha greater than unbearded wheat (P<0.001), whereas the opposite was true in 2008 with unbearded yielding 155.3 kg/ha greater (P<0.001). In 2007, deer browsing increased yield by 284.8 kg/ha (P<0.015), conversely in 2008, fully protected wheat yielded 226.3 kg/ha greater than all other treatments (P<0.008). Browsing increased in intensity as head development progressed with most browsing occurring on the unbearded wheat. Our results varied annually, which suggests that factors other than deer browsing may be more important to determining wheat yield. More research is needed to better elucidate the effect of deer browse on wheat yield.
Recommended Citation
Springer, M., & Bowman, J. L. (2009) Preliminary results from a study of the effect of deer browsing on bearded and unbearded wheat yield. In Boulanger, J. (Ed.), The Thirteenth Wildlife Damage Management Conference (68-70). Saratoga Springs, NY: Thirteenth WDM Conference.
Included in
Preliminary Results from a Study of the Effect of Deer Browsing on Bearded and Unbearded Wheat Yield
Saratoga Springs, NY
Wheat is an important agronomic crop that is a common winter food source for white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) in agricultural landscapes. In 2007 and 2008, I investigated spatial and temporal browsing on 2 types of wheat (bearded and unbearded) in fields bordered on one side by a forest. I placed 960 4.6 m2 plots in the middle of 10 m distance classes (5m, 15m, 25m, 35m, 45m, 55m). In 2007, I systematically assigned 1 of 2 treatments (no protection, protected at planting), and in 2008, I added a third treatment, protected prior to heading. After head emergence, I conducted weekly browse surveys and collected biomass samples. I harvested a 1 m2 area in the middle of each plot to determine yield . We used a two-way ANOVA with the main effects of wheat type and protection to determine the impact on yield. The main effects did not interact to affect yield either year (P>0.05). In 2007, bearded wheat yielded 523.7 kg/ha greater than unbearded wheat (P<0.001), whereas the opposite was true in 2008 with unbearded yielding 155.3 kg/ha greater (P<0.001). In 2007, deer browsing increased yield by 284.8 kg/ha (P<0.015), conversely in 2008, fully protected wheat yielded 226.3 kg/ha greater than all other treatments (P<0.008). Browsing increased in intensity as head development progressed with most browsing occurring on the unbearded wheat. Our results varied annually, which suggests that factors other than deer browsing may be more important to determining wheat yield. More research is needed to better elucidate the effect of deer browse on wheat yield.