Ben Wiegmann, Beck’s Hybrids Field Sales Agronomist, discusses his top four wheat planting strategies for successful yields: planting date, weed control, planting depth, and planting population.

Ben Wiegmann, Beck’s Field Sales Agronomist, reviews the details of the “Weed Management in Wheat” 2021 Herbicide Insight Plot. The purpose of this study is to determine how newer wheat herbicide labels such as Sharpen® and Zidua® SC compare to traditional wheat herbicides.

It’s that time of year again. It's the time of year for our wheat to start flowering, so fungicide applications should be top of mind. With the kind of spring we are experiencing throughout much of the Midwest, many factors favor Fusarium head blight (head scab) onset.

Cold weather prevents wheat plants from breaking dormancy, so in cold springs, wheat crops may be slow to greenup. Delayed greenup is less concerning than cold damage to the wheat crop.

Chilling injury is only one part of the evaluation of winter wheat in the spring. If the fall was wet and challenging, there could be stand establishment concerns. In some low areas, the seed may have rotted in the fall. If the plant has fewer than three developed leaves going into the winter, it is more prone to injury as the crown is underdeveloped.

Scouting your wheat now is critical to preventing Fusarium head scab in your fields. Get to know and understand the wheat growth stages and timing and be prepared to apply fungicide when necessary.

 

Beck’s agronomist, Sean Nettleton, provides an update to last week’s wheat webinar on freeze damage.

Beck’s agronomist, Chad Kalaher, provides an update to last week’s wheat webinar on freeze damage.

We have been experiencing warmer than usual temperatures this winter in Southern Indiana. In terms of wheat, this warm weather has not concerned me as it is what happens in early spring that affects yield the most. The two factors that have the biggest impact on our quest to achieving high-yielding wheat are scouting and nitrogen (N) management. As you begin to evaluate your wheat stand, one of the most important things to remember is to perform stand checks. This can be done with a 1 x 1 ft. square, as shown below. Be sure to take counts at multiple locations that represent different landscape positions in your fields.

I’ve received a few calls over the past few weeks from wheat farmers inquiring whether or not their wheat fields were starting to break dormancy. From what I’ve seen, the answer is yes. Many wheat fields have in fact “greened up” over the last couple of weeks. With temperatures reaching the mid-60s on January 21 and 22, and nighttime temperatures remaining above freezing until around January 26, a definite change has taken place across southern Illinois wheat fields.

Most of the wheat in our area was planted between October 1-10, with the majority planted by October 7. Along with timely planting, the warm fall promoted excellent fall growth and tillering for overwintering. I noticed a few challenges this spring where seeding depth was too shallow or significant residue created poor seed-to-soil contact. I continue to see that the best stands are the ones where residue has been evenly-distributed and lightly incorporated with a vertical tillage tool or disk prior to seeding. No-till also continues to work well where the seed is placed deep enough for good seed-to-soil contact.