No Till Notes: 'Tough conditions'

Over the past few weeks, I have been visiting with numerous producers around the Panhandle.Generally producers call to discuss field pea production but the conversation almost always turns to the condition of the winter wheat crop planted last fall.

I have also read reports in the University of Nebraska’s Cropwatch and listened to a couple of programs on the radio that also discussed the condition of this year’s winter wheat crop in our area. All the reports from producers and researchers suggest that the winter wheat crop has experienced a pretty significant loss due to winter kill of the winter wheat crop.

On the Howard Hale radio broadcast, Dr. Robert Klein – long time researcher at the University of Nebraska Research farm in North Platte – said that this may be the worst condition he has seen the winter wheat crop in his 50 years of research in our area. I have noticed in our area that there is some winter kill in small areas of many fields but I have only seen one field where the winter kill appears to be bad enough to destroy the winter wheat crop.

Having scouted the winter wheat fields on our farm it appears to me that our winter wheat crop has come out of dormancy in pretty good shape. I am wondering if our no till production system has any advantages when it comes to winter wheat survival over the long winter here in Western Nebraska.

It appears that there may be some advantages to planting the winter wheat crop in a no till crop production system. Planting in a loose, dry seedbed can lead to winter kill in winter wheat. In our no till production system, we are always planting into a firm seedbed and most years there is adequate moisture in the seedbed for seedling establishment.

Our climate in Western Nebraska also makes our winter wheat crop susceptible to winter kill.The wide temperature swings we see during the course of the winter are hard on the winter wheat crop. Every time a wheat plant breaks dormancy due to warming temperatures during the winter the plant losses some of its winter hardiness.

The sudden drop in temperature that we experienced last fall in the second week of November really was hard on this year’s winter wheat crop. We quickly dropped from above normal temperatures to below zero in a couple of days. This extremely rapid drop in temperature didn’t allow the crown of the winter wheat plants to slowly harden in preparation for the cold winter.

I read through a UNL NebGuide titled “Root and Crown Rot-Winterkill Complex of Winter Wheat.” In the publication, the cultural practices suggest that crop rotation that we use in our no till crop production system is a good practice to break up the root and crown pathogens associated with winter kill in winter wheat. The guide also suggests that often moisture is a limiting factor in winter wheat production and leaving the previous crops residues on the soil surface will help conserve soil moisture which helps reduce the impact of winter kill in winter wheat.

Other management practices to consider are seed treatment at planting, planting the wheat crop near the recommended planting date, proper soil nutrition including phosphorous to promote good root growth, planting recommended varieties, and planting into a firm, moist seed bed at proper seeding depth, generally 1-2 inches depending on soil type.

Winter wheat has long been the backbone of dry land crop production in our area. Our climate is well suited for winter wheat production.Our climate also presents some challenges for producing our winter wheat crop.

It appears there may be some advantages to producing winter wheat in a no till crop production system. Crop rotations we use in our continuous no till production system reduces the root and crown pathogens associated with winter kill. Using no till we can always plant into a firm and generally moist seedbed at the proper depth. Leaving the previous crop’s residues on the soil surface also helps conserve moisture around the winter wheat seedlings as the crop survives our often harsh and erratic winter months.