Wheat Production

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Wheat Production Management

• Ed Twidwell
• LSU AgCenter
• School of Plant, Environmental Soil Sciences

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Wheat production in Louisiana

• Wheat acreage fluctuates with price
• Last 10 years, acreage has been between 100,000
  150,000 acres
• In 1985 acreage was about 500,000 acres
• Expecting over 300,000 acres to be planted in 2007

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Type of Wheat Grown in Louisiana

• Soft red winter wheat
• Used for cakes, pastries, crackers
• This wheat is grown throughout the southern USA
  up through Illinois Indiana
• Other types hard red winter, hard red spring,
  white wheat are grown in other regions

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Advantages of Producing Wheat

• Provides cash flow in the late spring
• Works well in a double-cropping system with
  soybeans
• Reduces soil erosion during the winter and spring
  months

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Problems With Growing Wheat

• Wheat is not treated as a major crop by many
  producers
• Difficult environmental conditions
• Wet soils during the fall winter
• High humidity during the spring
• Excessive rainfall prior to harvest

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Key Point

• In order for wheat to be grown successfully in
  Louisiana
• It needs to be treated as a major crop!

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Land Selection

• Wheat does not tolerate poor drainage very well
• Wheat should be planted on the most well-drained
  soils available

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Land Preparation

• Conventional
• Seedbed preparation should be thorough enough to
  incorporate existing vegetation and permit
  uniform planting

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Seeding Rate

• LSU Ag Center recommended rate is 60 to 120
  pounds/acre, depending upon conditions
• A rate of 60-75 pounds/acre should be sufficient
  if high quality seed is selected and planted into
  a good seedbed with adequate moisture
• For any seedbed that is less than ideal, the
  seeding rate should be adjusted upwards between
  75 and 120 pounds/acre

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Louisiana Research

• Seed rate Yield Plants Tillers
• --lb/A-- -bu/A- /sq ft /plant
• 15 76 4.6 9.8
• 30 89 9.0 4.9
• 60 91 13.3 3.2
• 90 92 23.8 2.1
• 120 90 29.4 1.6
• Mascagni et. al

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Arkansas Research

• Seeding rate (lb/A) Yield (bu/A)
• 30 68
• 60 72
• 90 75
• 120 77
• 150 74
• 180 77

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Seeding Method

• Drill Preferred Method
• Reduces seeding rate (60-75 pounds/A)
• Ensures good soil-to-seed contact
• Provides excellent control of seeding depth
• Provides more uniform stands

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Broadcasting Widely Used

• Broadcast seed and then harrow or disk the seed
  into the ground
• Major problem random seeding depth and soil is
  not firmed around the seeds
• Firming the soil after seeding with a cultipacker
  may help
• Seeding rate At least 75-120 pounds/acre

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No-till

• Could be a useful seeding method on highly
  erodible soils or in wet soil conditions
• Research studies from several states show little
  or no yield differences between conventional and
  no-till plantings

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No-till, cont.

• No-till planting into soybean residue is ideal
• Residue management is important with corn
• May need to increase seeding rate by 10 if
  planting into heavy residue

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Planting Date

• North Louisiana October 15 to November 15
• Central South Louisiana November 1 to 30

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Major Problem

• Growers typically want to plant wheat before the
  recommended planting dates
• They do so because they worry about excessive
  fall rains keeping them from planting wheat on
  time or not at all

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Early-Planted Wheat

• Excessive fall and winter growth makes wheat more
  prone to spring freezes
• Excessive fall and early spring growth can make
  wheat more prone to early spring wheat diseases
• Dont fertilize too heavy with N initially

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Late-Planted Wheat

• Yields can be reduced if planting is delayed
  until mid-December
• Late-planted wheat study in 1991-92
• Planting dates of normal (early November) late
  (mid-December) at 4 locations
• Normal Mean yield of 44 bushels/A
• Late Mean yield of 32 bushels/A

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Recommendation

• If growers insist on planting early, they must
  make sure they DO NOT plant an early-maturing
  variety
• They should plant a later-maturing variety
• Can look at the LSU AgCenter website for data on
  heading dates

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Wheat Varieties for Louisiana

• Variety Maturity
• LA 482 Early
• AGS 2000 Early
• LA 841 Early
• USG 3209 Medium
• Pioneer 26R61 Medium
• Coker 9553 Late
• TV 8558 Late
• Panola Late

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Recommendation

• The early-maturing varieties should be planted
  during the recommended planting dates or later

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Planting Depth

• A depth of about 1 to 1.5 inches is adequate
• Depth (in.) Emergence ()
• 1 95
• 2 76
• 3 31
• 4 4

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Freeze Damage

• Mainly a problem with early-planted wheat
• Difficult to assess because freezing frequently
  injures only part of the wheat spike or only
  plants in certain parts of the field
• After a freeze, late tillers are produced that
  have the capability of still producing a decent
  grain yield
• Yield of these late tillers is determined by
  environmental conditions

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Growth Stage Important

• Growth stage Low temp (2 hrs) Effect
• Jointing 24 Mod.
• Boot 28 Mod.
• Heading 30 Severe
• Flowering 30 Severe
• Milk 28 Mod.
• Dough 28 Slight
• Kansas State Univ.

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Wheat Stand Ratings

• Should a grower keep or destroy a stand?
• Ideally would like to have 25-35 plants/sq ft
• lt 4 plants/sq ft Bad
• 4-12 plants/sq ft Look at vigor
• uniformity
• gt 12 plants/sq ft Most likely keep

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Wheat Tillering Can Compensate For Low Plant
Populations

• Seeding rate Plants/sq ft Tillers/plant
• ---lb/acre---
• 56 11 7.6
• 80 19 5.4
• 112 33 3.6
• 224 45 3.0
• Kansas State Univ.

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Wheat for Grazing Grain

• Probably not a good idea
• Almost any type of grazing will cause damage to
  the wheat grain yield, especially under wet
  conditions
• Absolutely need dry conditions
• Question Is it worth the risk?

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Winnsboro Research

• Grazing Termination 1980 1981
• ---Yield (bu/A)---
• Check 39 45
• March 1 23 23
• March 15 6 25
• Viator, et al.

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Feekes Scale
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Why is this scale important?

• Many herbicide and fungicide labels will use this
  scale when describing when the products should be
  applied
• It is a universal scale that is used throughout
  the United States

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Feekes Scale

• Tillering
• Stem Extension
• Heading
• Flowering
• Ripening

• 1-5
• 6-10
• 10.1-10.5
• 10.51-10.54
• 11.1-11.4

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Feekes Scale 3

• Tillers formed
• Most of the tillers that contribute to grain
  yield potential are completed during this stage
• Many weed control decisions should be made before
  or during this stage

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Feekes Stage 4

• Beginning of erect growth
• Most tillers have been formed by this stage
• Secondary root system is developing
• Growing point is still below the soil

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Feekes Stage 5

• Plant becomes strongly erect
• All meaningful tiller development has ceased
• Growing point is still below the soil level
• Ideal stage for spring topdressing of N
• Difficult stage to determine!!!!!!!!!

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Feekes Stage 6

• First node visible (jointing)
• Relatively easy to determine this stage
• Use knife to split stems
• The first node is swollen and appears above the
  soil surface

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Stage 6, cont.

• Some herbicides should not be applied after this
  stage
• Excellent stage to make spring topdressing of N
• Growers need to be monitoring their stands and
  know how to determine this growth stage

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Feekes Stage 8

• Flag leaf visible
• Flag leaf makes up about 75 of the effective
  leaf area that contributes to grain fill
• Decisions regarding some fungicide applications
  should be made

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Feekes Stage 10

• Boot stage
• Head is fully developed, but has not yet emerged
  from the leaf sheath below the flag leaf

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Summary

• Treat wheat like you would other crops
• Encourage growers to not plant too early
• Prepare a good seedbed and avoid wet areas
• Listen closely to the remaining presentations

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Questions?