Top 8 Recommendations for Winter Wheat Establishment in 2018

Shawn Conley, State Soybean and Small Grains Specialist; John Gaska, Outreach Specialist;
Damon Smith, State Field Crops Pathology Specialist

Top 8 winter wheat establishment recommendations:

  1. Variety selection: please see the 2018 WI Winter Wheat Performance Test
  2. Plant new seed (DO NOT plant saved seed).
  3. A fungicide seed treatment is recommended for winter wheat in WI, especially for seed damaged by Fusarium head blight (FHB).
  4. Wheat should be planted 1 to 1.5 inches deep.
  5. The target seeding rate for wheat planted from September 15th to October 1st is 1,300,000 to 1,750,000 seeds per acre.
  6. The optimal seeding rate for wheat planted after October 1st should be incrementally increased as planting date is delayed to compensate for reduced fall tillering.
  7. Crop rotation matters.
  8. Plant between September 20 and October 5

To hear more about each of these recommendations in detail, click here.