In our last post, we talked about all of the things Service and Supply Cooperative could help you with this spring. We have everything you need to get the spring 2020 planting season underway including seed, fertilizer, anhydrous, and chemicals. In this blog we are going to focus on a crop that has been in the ground for months now and is ready to start being managed within the next few weeks. If you have a wheat crop in your fields, this blog will talk you through some key timings and ways Service and Supply has you covered. If you have any questions or concerns about your wheat, give your location a call today and we can help figure out the next steps to take.
Early Growth
We are at the beginning of March, which means that the majority of the wheat in our area, East Central Missouri, has been growing for four to five months. During the winter, wheat goes through a vernalization period, or a stretch of cooling of the seed after the first frost. This vernalization period is needed to speed up and get to flowering. When wheat gets the proper amount of vernalization, it responds with the correct flowering time and successful seed production. If the wheat does not endure at least three weeks of cold temperatures, it will not develop seed heads and will stay in a vegetative state. We are starting out this spring with a healthy looking crop. Once we start seeing warmer weather, which seems to be the case already, we should see this wheat becoming green again and shoot up in height.
Fertilizer
Throughout the fall, the wheat plants were putting on tillers, which are extra stems off the side of the main stem that also produce heads. Tillers continue to be produced during the spring. To help get the early upward and outward growth, we apply Nitrogen and fertilizer to the fields. When it comes to fertilizer, it is best to follow the 4-R’s. Make the application using the right product, in the right place, with the right rate, at the right time. Call your location today to talk to our fertilizer specialists to come up with the right plan for your farm. We like to apply fertilizer a couple different times during the spring. The early application happens before jointing and will be applied soon. The first round of fertilizer is recommended to have 1 lb of sulfur for every 10 lbs of Nitrogen. Studies have shown a positive yield response when sulfur is applied to wheat. The next round of fertilizer will be applied later on in the life cycle along with other products such as fungicides and insecticides.
Herbicides & Insecticides
See unwanted weeds or other grasses that are not wheat in your field? We have a lineup of herbicides fit for your fields. With products such as Harmony or Huskie, we can make an effective tank mix for you. We can make one less trip across your field by adding an insecticide to the mix. You don’t want those pesky aphids, spider mites, or other insects harming your wheat and potentially threatening your yield. By getting to the field with the first sight of insects and weeds, we can take care of them before they become an issue. Make sure to scout your fields, or call and have us scout them for you, so we can make sure we are catching everything and are taking action at the right time.
Fungicides
Some diseases show up early in the spring growing season. Keep an eye out for stripe rust. If left go for too long, the rust will overtake the green leaves and block out the sun leading to a decrease in photosynthesis. A decrease in photosynthesis leads to a reduction in growth and vigor. To help offset these diseases we can add Folicur (traizole type) fungicide to the application as we make this first pass on the field. That should help hold back the early diseases and keep your plants healthy to continue an upward growth. Later in the season other diseases start appearing. A disease that has a huge impact on the health and yield of wheat is Fusarium Head Blight, aka “Head Scab”. Head Scab shows up at the time of head emergence and can have a major impact on yield, along with adding unwanted, harmful toxins to the seed. We scout for this disease when the heads start appearing and apply fungicides when the whole field is 50% headed. Fungicides we have to offer are Prosaro and Miravis Ace, which can be used for these later season applications. It is a good idea to scout your fields to know what stage the plants are at to apply fungicides at optimal times.
If you have any questions, feel free to contact us!
