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Inoculant on Winter Wheat – Are you Kidding Me?

Winter wheat in a field covered in snow

Inoculant on winter wheat? Can farmers use inoculants and/ or ag-biologicals in the fall to promote the growth of winter wheat? Yes they can and some already are. In this week’s edition of Growing Possibilities, we look at the advantages of winter wheat and the role inoculants and/or ag-biologicals can play in a successful crop. Harvest 2024 is nearing completion and while it is too early to have final yield data overall sentiment in both Canada and the US seems to be positive. With combines starting to go into the shop for winter maintenance and grain bins full farmers will be planning their next steps. While some won’t be making crop planting decisions until later in the year others will be beginning to plant winter wheat.

Winter wheat as a rotational crop can present many advantages to growers. Winter wheat serves as a cover crop which can prevent erosion and control weed growth. Winter wheat also enhances cycling of the major macronutrients Nitrogen (N), Phosphorus (P) & Potassium (K) and can be an N feeder for subsequent crops (1). Research has shown that adding winter wheat to a soybean/corn rotation can increase yields, build drought resilience and increase soil health (2). In studies conducted in Elora, Ontario corn yields went up 15 per cent and soybean yields went up 13 per cent when winter wheat was added to the rotation.

Beyond the benefits that winter wheat provides for other crops like corn and soybeans it has been reported to produce better yields than spring wheat under certain conditions. A grower near Selkirk, Manitoba reported that under drought like conditions his winter wheat produced 60 bu/ac on the same year his spring wheat produced 45 bu/ac (3). The production of straw can also be higher with winter wheat adding a secondary revenue stream to the crop. Planting in fall and harvesting in late spring/ early summer can also act to spread out the use of equipment and the timing of marketable product in and out of the bins. This allows for more resilience as farmers can rely on a longer harvest season and multiple crops coming off a field in the same year.

Winter wheat has little to no seed dormancy. It should be sown into stubble that can hold snow. The seeding of winter wheat must be done early enough to allow it to develop healthy crown and reach 2-3 leaf stage before snowfall (4). This is because winter wheat will stay alive but dormant under the snow and begin to grow in the spring again as soon as it is able.

Because a good establishment is necessary in the fall to achieve a successful winter wheat crop growers must plan a suitable fertility program. P is very important for the early development of winter wheat (5). However, even when banding of P fertilizer is used most crops only recover 10-30 per cent of this fertilizer in the first year (6). This is because a significant amount of P fertilizer can be locked in the soil and become unavailable to the plant.

So can farmers use inoculant on winter wheat? XiteBio has seen some of our growers begin to use XiteBio® Yield+ on their winter wheat crops. XiteBio® Yield+ is a P-solubilizing Plant Growth Promoting Rhizobacteria (PGPR) meaning that it helps plants to access phosphorus in the soil. It does this by producing enzymes that make the phosphorus in the soil accessible to the plant. This helps with plant uptake and can help with early plant vigor. In addition, XiteBio® Yield+ produces plant growth hormones. These hormones encourage the plant to develop a larger and healthier root system. By using a PGPR on winter wheat in the fall farmers can give their crop the best chance of a strong start in spring once the snow melts. This combined with a strong genetics and good fertility programs can lead winter wheat growers down the road to healthier plants and better yields.

  1. https://www.sare.org/publications/managing-cover-crops-profitably/nonlegume-cover-crops/winter-wheat/
  2. https://ontariograinfarmer.ca/2022/02/01/winter-wheat-benefits/
  3. https://ag.ducks.ca/stories/economic-benefits-to-winter-wheat-even-in-a-dry-year/
  4. https://www.gov.mb.ca/agriculture/crops/crop-management/winter-wheat.html
  5. https://www.cropquest.com/phosphorus-fertilizer-wheat/
  6. https://www.saskatchewan.ca/business/agriculture-natural-resources-and-industry/agribusiness-farmers-and-ranchers/crops-and-irrigation/soils-fertility-and-nutrients/phosphorus-fertilization-in-crop-production

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