SCALES 2: COMPUTER PROGRAM TO CONVERT AMONG DEVELOPMENTAL STAGE SCALES FOR CORN AND SMALL GRAINS

Authors

Dorothy M. Harrell, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow
Wallace Wilhelm, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow
Gregory S. McMaster, USDA-ARSFollow

Date of this Version

November 1998

Comments

Published in Agron. J. 90:235-238 (1998).

Abstract

Producers and agronomists need crop developmental scales that are easy to use, universally accepted, and accurate. Development of such a scale requires correlation of stages among scales currently in use and correlation of developmental patterns among crops. A computer program for converting among staging systems is a useful tool in developing new staging systems with wider applicability. The BBCH scale (BASF-Bayer-Ciba-Geigy-Hoechst) has been proposed as a prototype of a universal scale. We have added the BBCH scale to our scale conversion program for wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) and developed a similar conversion program for corn (Zea mays L.), based on correlations reported in the literature. SCALES 2 provides a tool to translate among several widely used scales for corn and small-gain development, and can be used to develop familiarity with the various scales.