Growing winter wheat

Introduction

Getting to know your variety has always been an important factor in producing high returns from any crop. In these husbandry guidelines we aim to help you fine tune your agronomy depending on variety choice. These guidelines are divided into two sections:

  1. General husbandry notes on planning and growing winter wheat.
  2. Technical sheets on each variety.

Growing Winter Wheat

In this section we discuss all aspects of growing winter wheat, highlighting certain areas that should help you in your decision making.

1. Planning

There are four main areas to be considered when deciding which variety to grow:

  1. Quality criteria
  2. Drilling date
  3. Place in rotation
  4. Possible problem areas (e.g. slugs)

a. Quality criteria

The British wheat market is divided into four groups. Groups 1 and 2 are wheat varieties which produce bread and blending flour. Together, group 1 and 2 varieties have increased their share over the last three years to 25% of the market. Growing crops for these markets will depend on your experience in achieving grain samples with high protein levels and with good Hagberg Falling Number and specific weights. Group 3 varieties now make up 50% of the UK wheat market. Grain from these varieties is used for biscuit making, distilling and for animal feed but is also of great importance for export markets. Five years ago, group 4 wheats dominated the market but have now slipped to only 25% of the wheat area. Group 4 wheats are still the highest yielding varieties. Although traditionally feed wheats, these varieties are increasingly being differentiated by grain quality. Varieties like Reaper with good specific weight, zeleny and Hagberg levels are being used as 'grist fillers' in home and export markets.

b. Drilling Date

Farm practice has been changing over the last few years. Larger farming units now grow a higher percentage of winter wheat, which means sowing dates can range from mid August to December. Variety performance will vary according to sowing date.

Preferred varieties for early sowing should have the following characteristics:

  • Good disease resistance -- early sowing promotes lush crops which are susceptible to disease build up.
  • Slow autumn growth -- crops which become too advanced during the winter are more prone to damage by frosts.

Preferred varieties for late sowing should have:

  • Good tillering ability -- late sowing requires varieties to establish quickly, tiller well and respond to low amounts of early spring nitrogen.

c. Place in Rotation

Larger areas of winter wheat often lead to high percentages of second or third wheats in the rotation. Yield levels of second wheats vary according to variety, with some varieties producing higher yields in non-first wheat situations than others. Disease resistance is also critical in non-first wheat situations, especially to eyespot.

d. Problem Areas

Difficult land that produces uneven seedbeds requires varieties that can better adapt when plant numbers are low. High tillering varieties give this insurance.

Field planning should occur well before the drilling season, so the correct variety is sourced and the most appropriate seed treatments are used. Control of Fusarium in all forms is most important as relatively low levels of infection can severely reduce plant establishment.

Beret Gold seed treatment is recommended which also controls seed-borne and soil-borne common bunt (Tilletia caries).

2. Establishment

The objective of effective establishment is to produce enough ears for maximum yield. This is largely (though not totally) determined by seed rate, which in turn should be calculated based on both variety and drilling date.

  Early sown crops
Aug-Sept 		Late sown crops
Oct-Nov 		Very late sown
crops Late Nov-Dec
Number of ears required for maximum yield 500 - 600/m2 600 - 750/m2 700 - 800/m2

Earlier drilling will also encourage higher tillering. Problem areas may need extra seed to compensate, for example, from damage by slugs.

Obtain the information you need for each variety in the technical sheets provided in this folder. You will require the thousand grain weight of the variety from your seed merchant. Calculation of seed rate is then obtained from the sowing charts at the end of this folder.

3. Disease Control (Sowing -- December)

Early sown crops are most susceptible to disease build up with mildew occurring most commonly. In most situations treatment is not needed. However, on varieties susceptible to early mildew attack, fungicides may be justified. Leaf areas with more than 10% infection.

4. Herbicides, Insecticides and Micronutrients (October -- April)

Slugs are a main problem area. Careful monitoring is needed and slug pellets should be applied when required. When using herbicides, follow recommendations on the product label. On soil types where black-grass is a problem, early control is essential to avoid severe yield reduction. In difficult conditions an Avadex and Hawk programme has been proven effective. NFC recommends application of a standard micronutrient programme. Refer to the section on nutrition to identify problem areas.

5. Nitrogen Application (January -- April)

Early application of nitrogen is needed to maintain maximum yield potential. The amount of nitrogen applied will depend on plant numbers and soil fertility. Higher levels of early nitrogen are needed if tiller numbers need to be increased. Lower levels will be needed if tiller numbers only need to be maintained. The amount of nitrogen required will also depend on field reserves, rotation, previously used fertilisers etc.

6. Main Application of Nitrogen and Plant Growth Regulators

Timing of the nitrogen application will depend on the speed of development of each variety. Look at the technical sheets provided for information on speed of development.

Nitrogen application rates depend on four main factors:

  • Soil fertility.
  • Nitrogen already applied.
  • Yield potential of site.
  • Use of PGRs.

Farm experience will dictate levels of nitrogen required, taking these four key factors into consideration. In high yield potential situations it is always important to use a good growth regulator programme. Recent work carried out on lodging resistance indicates that varieties differ enormously in three key areas.

  • Centre of gravity of the plant.
  • Straw strength.
  • The strength of the anchorage which comes from the crown root system of the plant.

This point can be further affected by tiller numbers.

Individual varieties can be classified according to these three key factors. However, remember to take into account the other factors which will affect the standing power of a variety - such as drilling date (early or late), seed rate (high or low), soil type (strong clay/unstructured sand) and nitrogen input.

PGRs (for example Moddus) can be used to manipulate tillers and rooting if applied in early season. PGRs will also reduce the distance between internodes and increase straw strength. To improve tillering or stem strength, or both, will require appropriate timing of products such as Moddus and specific advice should be obtained.

In high yielding situations, where drought stress is not a problem, mid season growth regulators can be used to keep the crop standing, thereby maintaining the quality of the grain sample. However, use of mid season growth regulators will depend on weather conditions, as high temperatures at the time of application can cause yield reductions in all varieties.

7. Fungicide Programme (April - June)

New strobilurin chemistry is attracting considerable interest -- both because of improved disease control and because of increased yields, even in the absence of disease due to late season 'leaf greening'.

To broaden the disease spectrum of strobilurins and boost eradicant activity, it is advisable to add products such as triazoles to the spray mix. Flag leaf protection is critical to conserve yield levels in wheat - with as much as 40% of the final grain yield being produced by the flag leaf alone. While some varieties are relatively susceptible to diseases like brown rust and Septoria, others are much more robust. Because of this, resistant varieties allow for greater flexibility and give you the added opportunity to tailor fungicide timings to the variety and to reduce dose rates depending on disease pressure.

Indeed, the best mixer partner for any fungicide is the inherent resistance of the variety itself. Indications are given in the technical sheets on the level of fungicides needed for each variety under normal conditions.

8. Late Nitrogen Application

Target late nitrogen applications according to your end market. Quality bread varieties (Groups 1 and 2) need high protein levels so may require a late nitrogen application. Biscuit wheats (Group 3) like Eclipse require lower levels of protein in the grain so all nitrogen should be applied by the end of April.

9. Insecticides

Aphids are always of concern when found in large numbers. Aphids need to be kept at a manageable level in all winter wheat crops.

10. Late Ear Sprays

Disease pressure will be the deciding factor on the level of fungicide applied to the ear. Varieties aimed at quality end markets should be kept free of disease and again, varietal resistance will be important when selecting fungicides. Please refer to the variety technical sheets.

11. Harvesting and Storage

It is always advisable to harvest the crop in the best condition as soon as moisture levels are low enough. Grain separation is becoming more important as end markets demand increased varietal purity.

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