- Author: Mark Lundy
After almost 6 weeks without a substantial rainstorm, there is finally some precipitation starting to appear in the 10-day forecast for the Sacramento Valley. The lack of rain thus far has made it difficult to proceed with N fertilizer topdress applications in non-irrigated wheat fields this season. In addition, the warmer than normal temperatures have increased the rate of crop development such that many fall planted wheat crops are further along than would normally be the case at this time of year. Figures 1 and 2 below represent the cumulative rainfall since 10/1/2017 and the cumulative growing degree days (GDD) for wheat since 11/21/17, when we planted our experimental trials in Davis (each is compared to a 10-year...
- Author: Konrad Mathesius
- Contributor: Mark Lundy
After a dry beginning to the season, wheat growers might be trying to decide how to proceed with their nitrogen fertility program. If not irrigated, most wheat planted in the Sacramento Valley during November will likely have been stunted by the relatively dry conditions during the second half of November and throughout December (see Fig. 1, below). Some of the crops out there may need to be replanted entirely. If you're trying to work out how your stand is doing, consider some population sampling.
To get a rough estimate of your field's population, take several plant counts from random locations in the field. Lay a yard stick parallel to a row and count how many plants are still present in that row. Do this several times...
- Author: Mark Lundy
- Author: Konrad Mathesius
Recent UCCE research has illustrated the value of in-season applications of nitrogen (N) fertilizer, particularly applications made at the early vegetative growth stages. This is typically the stage of growth when N demand from the crop is increasing rapidly, the soil is beginning to warm up, and microbial metabolism and associated mineralization/transformations of the various forms of N are increasing. Over a wide range of California conditions and across multiple seasons, applications of N fertilizer at this stage of growth have been shown to
- Author: Mark Lundy
- Author: Steve Orloff
- Author: Nicholas Clark
- Contributor: Robert B Hutmacher
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We have received several recent inquiries following on our blog post from late January that discussed the potential value of a nitrogen (N) topdress at the tillering-to-jointing stages of wheat growth. This is particularly an issue with the higher than average precipitation we have experienced in California this year. The current question is whether a topdress of N might still be beneficial to wheat crops that are in the late-boot to early-heading stages of growth. Although fall-planted wheat...
- Author: Mark Lundy
- Author: Steve Orloff
- Contributor: Steven D Wright
- Contributor: Robert B Hutmacher
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Over the past 4+ seasons, a UCCE team (Lundy, Orloff, Wright and Hutmacher) has revisited nitrogen (N) fertilization recommendations for hard spring wheat specific to California conditions. We have grown wheat under a wide range of conditions and soil types, while varying the timing and quantity of N fertilizer to create conditions of N deficiency and sufficiency at the various times in the season when a grower might consider a N topdress.
Image 1. Hard spring wheat (UC Patwin 515) grown in the 2014-15 season in Davis where N fertilizer (urea) was/was not broadcast-applied near the beginning of...
