Development and Decline of Tiller in Wheat.

Wheat tillers are a vital component for maximizing yield in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.).  Tillering occurs during the vegetative growth stages GS1 to GS30.  A tiller is a shoot that originates at the node and over time, may grow a stem which reaches the reproduction stage.  The amount of tillers a single wheat plant will create involves many environment and management factors.  The purpose of this study is to measure the influence of environment and management on the development of productive tillers.  By tracking individual tillers, one will be able to see which tillers develop, which tillers are aborted, and which tillers produced through the growing season contribute the most to yield.  Seeding rate and the timing of nitrogen application are the key management factors included in this study with the experiment designed with seeding rate as the main plot and nitrogen timing as the subplot treatment.  Samples were taken every mouth through the growing season.  Measurements include tiller number, main stem leaf number, tiller leaf number, date of tiller initiation and grain yield from each stem (tiller or main). The ultimate focus with the study is to clearly diagram which tillers have the greatest impact on yield under the environmental and management factors present.  An understanding of when tillers develop and form a seed head and which tillers abort can help with future management practices.