...........STRAIGHT FROM THE HORSES MOUTH

Duane A. Lienemann

 UNL Extension Educator,

 Webster County

August 26, 2011 Edition

Producers are finishing up their irrigating season, and some have already picked up pipe and are contemplating their next task. That means that it won’t be long and our area farmers will be busy preparing for the 2011-12 wheat crop. With the type of year we have experienced and the problems in wheat fields we have seen in the past in our area, I think that like never before it is crucial to follow the recommended guidelines to insure a productive and successful crop. With the ergot, loose smut and Fusarium head blight (scab) in the heads of this year’s wheat it behooves us to follow some good production practices for wheat. Let’s this week look at planting wheat and what we can do to insure a good crop next year.

Wheat Variety Selection: First, let’s look at the potential for disease and what we can do about it. Believe it or not, Fall is the best time to prevent wheat disease problems from robbing yields next spring. How can that be? Well, variety selection is the single most important factor in disease management and many producers are looking at what seed wheat they will be planting in the next few weeks. Although no variety is resistant to everything, modern varieties have much better resistance to diseases and insects than those from a decade ago. The 2011 Nebraska Fall Seed Guide is available in your local Extension Office at a minimal cost, or if you have access to the internet there are some very good places you can go. You can go for a “Virtual Tour of Nebraska Wheat Varieties” by going to: http://cropwatch.unl.edu/web/wheat/virtua/ l or additional on-line information on wheat varieties can be found at http://cropwatch.unl.edu/web/varietytest/wheat .
A fairly new tool for wheat variety selection for the area, UNL Extension Winter Wheat Variety Selection Tool, can be found at: http://citnews.unl.edu/winter_wheat_tool/index.shtml/ . You can also get a lot of good information at: http://wheatbook.unl.edu/.   Since we in SC Nebraska have a lot in common with North Central Kansas I might also suggest utilizing the Kansas State wheat varieties and test results web site at: http://www.agronomy.ksu.edu/extension/  .
No matter which variety of seed wheat you select, I absolutely suggest using cleaned and conditioned Certified and treated seed that has a high test weight (56+). All of these qualities increase the success with winter wheat. The seed treatments need to thoroughly coat the seeds to give good results and should be applied with seed treating equipment. If you treat it with a fungicidal seed treatment (e.g. Dividend Extreme, Raxil-Thiram, or RaxilXT, Vitavax, Rancona, etc.) it can reduce the risk of problems later on. I have a list of treatments that you can use. Please contact me if you are interested, or you can go to Stephen Wegulo’s suggestions at http://cropwatch.unl.edu/web/cropwatch/archive?articleID=4266121/ .
Planting Considerations: It isn’t only seed varieties that can have an effect on disease and insects, there is no doubt that planting date has a strong impact on several diseases and insects. Early planting is a risk factor for wheat streak mosaic, barley yellow dwarf, take-all root rot, and of course Hessian Fly. To minimize risks, I suggest that you plant after the Hessian fly free date which is September 25 for South Central Nebraska. So from then up to two weeks after that date would be the optimum planting dates. If you get late in planting, the seed rate should be increased to compensate for the lack of tillering associated with that delayed planting. Use a seeding rate of 90 lbs/- 120 lbs/acre in rain fed row crop fields.
Wheat can emerge from various depths, but a planting depth of 1 to 2 inches is optimal. If deeper planting is necessary, producers should be aware of the coleoptile length of the variety to be planted. They should also be aware that soil temperature also has a big effect on coleoptile length. Soil fertility is always a big concern with any crop. Soil tests can go a long way in insuring a healthy plant and a great yield. There are always other key questions that producers have regarding recommendations to help with the wheat cropping enterprise. Let’s take a look at a couple of the most popular.
What varieties are best for continuous no-till wheat? This question comes up quite frequently and there has been almost no research done that tests variety performance under no-till, continuous wheat conditions. The best single criterion to use in selecting varieties for no-till continuous is tan spot resistant so look for varieties with high resistance. Other traits that are important for no-till continuous wheat are strong emergence and early growth, Hessian Fly resistance and septoria leaf blotch resistance. What ever wheat variety that you settle on, don’t forget also that wheat producers must follow the rules and regulations as set by the Plant Variety Protection Act (PVP). Be sure that you are in compliance.
Nebraska State Fair: I have spent the better part of this week helping prepare for the 2011 Nebraska State Fair. We hauled down over 90 static exhibits from Webster County and I have to tell you that our kids did a fantastic job. You can see the Webster County booth plus all the exhibits from across South Central Nebraska in the 4-H and FFA Exhibit Hall on the north end of the Fairgrounds in Grand Island. Our extension office staff did a tremendous job in designing and putting up a very attractive booth, so make sure if you are at the fair you stop by and take a look. You can track the results of competition at the fair by going to: http://www.nebraska4hresults.com./  As this column reaches the newspaper our livestock youth will be loading up and getting ready for the annual Labor Day weekend trek to show their prized livestock exhibits at the Nebraska State Fair. I know that South Central Nebraska is well represented in all species. I know that we have a lot of supporters for our 4-H and FFA youth. Please stop by and say hello when you walk through the barns or watch our kids make us proud with their exhibits. Oh and can it be –Husker football starts. Go Big Red!
The preceding information comes from the research and personal observations of the writer which may or may not reflect the views of UNL or UNL Extension. For more further information on these or other topics contact D. A. Lienemann, UNL Extension Educator for Webster County in Red Cloud, (402) 746-3417 or email to: dlienemann2@unl.edu or go to the website at: http://www.webster.unl.edu/home