Wheat
Winter wheat is a common part of many Ontario crop rotations, typically following soybeans and harvested in mid-summer. Compared to corn and soybeans wheat is harvested earlier in mid-summer. Depending on the year wheat provides economic returns and rotational benefits. Wheat fits best as a part of a system, rather than a stand-alone crop.
Winter wheat is seeded in the fall and overwinters before resuming growth in the spring. Important stages include fall establishment, winter survival, spring growth and stem elongation, heading & grain fill, and harvest. Conditions during fall establishment and early spring growth have a strong influence on final yield.
Several factors play a major role in wheat performance:
- Planting timing & Conditions – Seeding date and seedbed conditions influence establishment and tiller development
- Stand uniformity – Even emergence and consistent plant density support yield potential
- Nitrogen management – Timing and rate of nitrogen application are critical for both yield and protein
- Disease management – Diseases such as fusarium head blight can impact both yield and grain quality
- Weather conditions – Spring moisture, temperature, and conditions during heading and grain fill all affect performance
Wheat plays an important role in improving overall rotation performance. It has a host of potential benefits including breaking pest and disease cycles, providing an opportunity for manure application, improving workload distribution across the season, and gives a nice window to allow for cover crop establishment after harvest.
A successful wheat crop depends on attention to several key areas:
- Timely fall planting for strong establishment
- Managing residue from previous crop
- Proper spring nitrogen application
- Monitoring for disease pressure and applying fungicides when applicable
- Harvest timing
While wheat doesn’t always get the same attention as other crops, it can still have a significant impact on the overall performance of a rotation. When managed well, it can offer both direct and long term benefits to the cropping system.