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Why we plant wheat when we doBy David G. Hallauer Meadowlark District Extension agent, crops and soils/horticulture Kansas In some parts of the area, fall wheat seeding was delayed due to a combination of harvest and weather. If that was the case with your wheat stand, its good to know what to expect from that crop come spring time. A 1995 study from the South Central Experiment Field at Hutchinson gives us at least a peek at differing seeding dates. In this trial, four different planting dates were compared. As we might expect, the early and late dates differed markedly in their performance than those closer to an optimum time frame. For early planted wheat, there was good fall tillering--so much so, in fact, that competition stole a good deal of yield, of both spring and fall tillers. It was a case of nutrients to plants that didn't result in nutrients to grain. Yield was 39 bushels/acre The latest planting date didn't have good tillering in either fall or spring, with 59 percent of the grain coming from fall tillers and 41 percent from spring. Yield was 30.2 bushels/acre as the spring tillers just didn't compensate. The middle two planting dates underscore the effect that optimum planting date has on yield--and the importance of fall tillers. In the earlier of the two, close to 70 percent of the grain yield came from fall tillers. In the latter of the two, more yield came from spring tillers than fall, but there was profuse tillering in the spring that allowed yield to be very comparable to the earlier planting (57.7 to 54.8 bushels/acre respectively). While the bottom line is that anything is possible (especially with wheat), understand as well that the later you planted, the less you should be surprised if lower yields result. Houseplants and wintertime Winter can be tough on a houseplant. In summer, we fed and watered it well--and it grew. Do the same now and you may have come up with a recipe for disaster. Light is limiting now, so the plant's need for water and nutrients has dropped as well. Even the sunlight we get is different, coming at a different angle and providing less intensity of light. To compensate, back off. Water only when the top inch of potting soil is dry to the touch and don't fertilizer at all until you start doing so at about one-fourth of the normal rate come February. Homeowners should also be aware of the temperature gradients a houseplant can at times experience during winter. Glass gets cold, so even as plants like to be near light, they can be damaged by the cool glass or even air drafts. Some would say the solution is to move the plants near a heat register. Wrong. That may be even worse, literally baking the plant. Most plants are fine at human comfort levels. Still, monitor air temperatures and keep plants in areas above 50 degrees. You might want to move them a little further from a patio door or consider closing the drapes or pulling down the shade between your plants and a cold window at night. Some plants do require even warmer temperatures (Schefflera and Chinese evergreen are two we sometimes see), so know what you have before setting plants where they can be damaged. 12/22/08 Date: 12/16/08 Advertisement
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