Released: October 29, 2009           e-Mail the story

MANHATTAN, Kan. – Some wheat has not yet been planted this year across Kansas -- especially in the eastern third of the state -- due in some cases to wet soil conditions. In other cases, producers are still waiting to harvest their soybeans, grain sorghum or corn before planting wheat, said Jim Shroyer, Kansas State University Research and Extension crop production specialist.

 

This may require producers to do a little extra planning, Shroyer said.

 

“Planting wheat in early November is still within the acceptable range of planting dates in southeast and far south central Kansas. In other areas of the state, this is later than I would like to see and later than the cutoff date for full crop insurance coverage,” he said.

 

When planting wheat more than two weeks after the Hessian fly-free date, producers should begin to make certain management changes.

 

“For one, seeding rates should be increased,” the agronomist said. “When planting in late October or early November, producers should use a seeding rate of 75 to 90 pounds per acre in western Kansas and 100 to 120 pounds in eastern and central Kansas, or in fields under irrigation.” 

 

Shroyer added, "Also, as wheat seeding is delayed well past the optimum seeding date in the fall, producers should strongly consider using about 15 to 20 pounds per acre of phosphorus fertilizer directly with the seed, regardless of soil P levels. This placement method is more effective at that time of year than other application methods. The later the planting date, the more fall root development is slowed. The closer the fertilizer is to the seed, the sooner the plant roots can get to it.”

 

If volunteer wheat is present within a half-mile of the field to be planted, the best option at this point in the season might be to leave it alone and concentrate on getting the wheat planted, said Jeff Whitworth, K-State Research and Extension entomologist.

 

“Most of the wheat curl mites or aphids present on volunteer in late October or November will probably stay in place on undisturbed volunteer through the winter and not move onto newly planted wheat this fall,” he said. “The uncontrolled volunteer could lead to infestations of wheat curl mite, aphid and Hessian fly on planted wheat next spring, however, so it’s a tradeoff. Yield losses from spring infestations of these pests are typically not as great as losses from fall infestations.”

 

The highest priority now is to get the wheat crop planted as soon as possible, Shroyer said. Trying to spray the volunteer with a herbicide when temperatures are so cool is not really a good plan because it would take at least a couple weeks for the volunteer to completely die.

 

Wheat can be planted in November and still survive the winter in most cases, as long as there is enough warm weather for the wheat to develop a couple of tillers and a secondary root system, Shroyer said.

 

“Be sure to plant at least 1 to 1.5 inches deep. If the seed is placed too shallowly, it will be more susceptible to winterkill and desiccation injury. If placed too deeply, it may not have enough vigor in cold soils to emerge well,” he said.

 

A study done several years ago at K-State's Southwest Research and Extension Center near Garden City showed that the yield potential of wheat is reduced by about 20 percent for wheat that emerges in early November and another 20 percent for every month after that. This study was done at a constant seeding rate.

 

Yields of late-planted wheat would typically improve somewhat if seeding rates are increased, the agronomist said.

 

Many factors other than planting dates affect yields, of course, but wheat that doesn’t emerge until after Thanksgiving in western Kansas almost always yields less than wheat that emerges in the normal timeframe, Shroyer said.

 

Another consideration this fall is the long-term effect of planting into wet soils, he added. This may cause soil compaction problems that will reduce wheat root development next spring, making the wheat more susceptible to stresses and nutrient deficiencies, he said.

 

-30-

K-State Research and Extension is a short name for the Kansas State University Agricultural Experiment Station and Cooperative Extension Service, a program designed to generate and distribute useful knowledge for the well-being of Kansans. Supported by county, state, federal and private funds, the program has county Extension offices, experiment fields, area Extension offices and regional research centers statewide. Its headquarters is on the K-State campus, Manhattan.

Story by: Steve Watson
swatson@ksu.edu
K-State Research & Extension News

Jim Shroyer is at 785-532-5776 or jshroyer@ksu.edu Jeff Whitworth is at 785-532-5656 or jwhitwor@ksu.edu