Ultra Early Wheat Seeding

As farmers prepare for spring seeding they may want to check out the idea of Ultra Early Wheat seeding.

 

Crops Extension Specialist Sherri Roberts says Dr Brian Beres and his team out of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada - Lethbridge have done some interesting work on this.

 

"They started planting when the soil temperature at the five centimetre depth, reached zero, and then every two increment degrees after that, they planted once again. So they went from zero to 2,4,6,8 to 10 degrees because that's normally when a lot of producers are out there planting their wheat. They wanted to find out whether that really early wheat was going to suffer any yield losses or anything like that."

 

She notes the research did not find any detrimental effects on grain yield with the ultra early seeding, however, they did see a reduction on waiting for 10 degrees.

 

"A lot of the time when you've got your grain filling, that time comes when we get that big blast of summer heat. So by planting that seed in the ground so early, they avoided that. So then they didn't get that yield decrease that can sometimes happen if that occurs in your season. It just seems like more and more we're getting these hotter summers."

 

Roberts says this would be a way in which producers could get a win - win situation going.

 

"If you want to consider this concept, it gives you an opportunity you're getting that crop off the field so much earlier and then you can put a cover crop down and get the benefits of what a cover crop can give you. Plus take advantage of, you know, they put into effect these new carbon credit programs they are talking about cover crops being away and once you can, can get some credits."