Wheat - all articles

Yara's crop nutrition program for cereals (wheat, oats and barley) can help you achieve excellent crop performance and maximize the yield and quality of cereal crops.

Copper is essential for the production of high yielding cereal crops. Although copper removal in cereal crops is only 25-45 grams per acre, there are areas in Western Canada that are particularly prone to copper deficiencies.

The two key yield components of wheat are grain numbers per unit area, and the individual grain weight. High yields come from achieving the correct leaf and shoot numbers, maintaining a green leaf canopy, increasing grain numbers/ear and grain size.

The key to achieving high wheat yields, having established the correct canopy structure, is to maintain the green area right through to the final grain filling period, capturing as much of the incident light as possible and converting it to yield.

The number of leaves and shoots determines the size of the canopy and the number of ears (spikes) at harvest. Depending on the total number of shoots developed and how many of these survive through to harvest, the number of ears (spikes) is determined.

Wheat grain size is strongly influenced by plant nutrition particularly during the important grain filling period. Nitrogen, phosphate, potassium, magnesium and zinc are particularly important.

The grain number is itself a function of the number of fertile shoots per unit area and the number of grains per ear. The grower therefore needs to consider how nutrition can have an impact on the grain numbers per ear.

Protein has two components associated with it, namely the quantity or protein content and the quality of this protein. Both are affected by the levels of nitrogen and sulphur in the plant as it develops through the season.

The Hagberg falling number is the measure of a specific enzyme, which is used to determine suitability of wheat for bread making, with higher numbers preferred by millers. Effective crop nutrition management particularly of nitrogen and potassium can help increase the Hagberg falling numbers.

Grain specific weight is a measure of the density of the grain. Specific weight is predominantly a genetic trait of varieties, but poor crop nutrition and application can reduce specific weight.

When wheat is destined for biofuel production, the yield of ethanol is a key component to consider. Varietal choice is an important consideration with those that are soft wheat types tending to give higher ethanol yields.

Plant nutrients predominantly increase wheat yield and quality through ensuring no mineral deficiency is restricting growth and development. However, a well balanced fertilizer program will also increase crop health and help the plant protect itself from disease.

A correct balance between macronutrients and micronutrients is essential to obtain the best results possible from wheat. A deficiency of any single nutrient is enough to limit crop yield.

Here you find an overview of the role of nutrients by wheat growth stage.