For some growers, winter brings a lull after the frenzy of harvest. However, the end of the season doesn’t mean work ends. Winter wheat growers must prepare for their winter crop in the late fall, stretching into winter. While overwintering, they must be mindful of potential dangers before the plant begins tillering in the spring. How winter wheat begins is key to ensuring a strong and healthy crop at harvest.

Planted in the fall, winter wheat lies dormant during the cold months and begins growing in the spring, before harvest in the summer and fall. The biological process allowing winter wheat to survive in a dormant state is called vernalization.

“Vernalization allows the plant to go dormant during the winter months,” says Mark Lubbers, WestBred’s senior technical product manager for the Central Region. “After the seed is planted, germinates and is exposed to low temperatures, vernalization occurs.”

The exposure to temperatures below 40 degrees Fahrenheit triggers vernalization in the seed.

“Some varieties only need four to five days of low temperatures, some require weeks, but all winter wheat varieties must have that chilling,” says Lubbers.

There are certain conditions that winter wheat growers need to be aware of, in part because of the vernalization process that winter wheat undergoes.

“If you’ve planted in dry conditions or tough conditions, you should be planting in seeds per acre as opposed to pounds per acre. To plant in seeds per acre, you need to know your seeds per pound count. You need to know your germination percent,” says Lubbers. “From the beginning of December, you should know what you have. If you have pretty inconsistent stands, you might need to be thinking about plan B in the springtime. If you have got a good stand, you might want to consider using dry fertilizer if the ground isn’t frozen.”

The colder months also bring unique challenges growers need to be prepared for.

“The main thing to look out for is winterkill. If a wheat crop is too shallow, you can expose the crown of the small developing plant to the colder temperatures, and that can kill the plant. When you’re planting, put the seeds 1 ½ to 2 inches deep to ensure that the crown of the plant is not exposed to colder temperatures,” says Lubbers.

There are also certain pests to be aware of in the fall — grasshoppers. Damage can be mitigated by applying insecticide at a higher rate. For western Kansas growers, winter grain mites need to be monitored.

“You usually start to see infestations right around dormancy break in the springtime. They can kill the wheat plant if the infestation is heavy enough. It’s usually isolated, but it’s one to watch out for as winter progresses and we head towards spring,” says Lubbers.

While growers need to stay on top of the winter growing process, many threats can be prevented with proper planning in the fall.

“My philosophy for growing a sustainable winter wheat crop is impacted by the steps taken during planting time in the fall. As a best practice, a grower should plant seeds per acre and use a quality seed treatment so that every seed put in the ground is given an opportunity to come out of the ground,” Lubbers says.

To share your wheat story with WestBred, contact us at the.tiller@westbred.com

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