What Is the Minimum Spring Stand Required for Profitable Wheat Production?.

In the Midwest U.S., wet fall weather and delayed soybean harvest cause wheat to be planted late.  Additionally, wheat may experience several days of negative air temperatures without snow cover.  Spring stand is affected by late planting and weather leading to the question, “Should I keep my wheat?”  The objective of our study was to identify the minimum spring stand required for profitable wheat production.  A three location trial was established in fall 2014.  Five seeding rates were evaluated to mimic a poor to good wheat stand.  The five seeding rates evaluated were 0.25, 0.50, 1.0, 1.5, and 2.0 million seeds/acre.  Wheat tillers were counted twice in the spring, wheat heads were counted in June, and wheat was harvested in July.  Wheat yield increased with increasing number of wheat tillers at Feekes growth stage 5 (r = 0.50, p = 0.0013).  The optimum seeding rate for two out of three locations was 1.0-1.5 million seeds/acre.  At the Pickaway County location, the optimum seeding rate was 2.0 million seeds/acre due to poor weed control when wheat was seeded at the lower rates.