Seeding rates are important when drilling wheat!
Sandra Wick, Crop Production Agent
Producers are or soon will be planting their 2019 wheat crop, so stay tuned for some guidelines to remember when drilling your wheat. Variety selection is one of the most challenging decisions that needs to be made, but you need to remember that the wheat seeding rate is also a very important component to establishing your wheat crop. Recommendations in Kansas are often stated in terms of pounds or seeds per acre, and vary according to different precipitation zones. However, seed size can also have an impact in the final number of seeds actually planted per acre. A variety with larger kernels or less seeds/lb., when planted according to pounds per acre recommendations, will result in fewer seeds planted per acre and thinner stands than a variety with smaller kernels. So if the weather and fertility during the growing season are NOT favorable for tiller formation and survival, grain yields may be reduced due to the thinner stand. On the other extreme, a variety with small kernels planted according to pounds per acre recommendations can result in above-optimal stand establishment, therefore increasing competition for available resources such as water and nutrients.
So an advantage of planting wheat in terms of seeds per acre rather than pounds per acre is that seed costs can be reduced for varieties with a small kernel size. Seed size can simply be measured in terms of the number of seeds per pound. The “normal” range is about 14,000-16,000 seeds per pound for most wheat varieties, but it can range from 10,000 seeds per pound to more than 18,000 seeds per pound. K-State Research and Extension studies have shown that wheat variety plays a major role in determining wheat kernel size, as does the quality of your seed cleaning. So seed cleaning is very important if you are keeping and planting your own seed. This will ensure the final amount of seeds planted per acre will be close to your original target.
Certified seed, or seed submitted for germination testing, will provide for you the seeds/pound. The 2019 Wheat Varieties book for KS and the Great Plains also provides a reference to the seed size tendency of specific varieties. However, an easy on-farm method to estimate the average seed weight is to collect several representative 100-seed samples and the weight of each of those samples in grams. Then to calculate the seeds/lb., simply divide by a conversion factor and the average weight of the 100-seed samples. There is also a quick reference guide available to help you adjust the planting rate in pounds per acre based on the wheat variety seed size and the targeted number of seeds planted per acre. This is available at any of the Post Rock Extension District Offices in Beloit, Lincoln, Mankato, Osborne or Smith Center. The recommended wheat seeding rate for a dryland wheat producer in Central Kansas is about 750,000 to 900,000 seeds per acre, which calculates to about 50-60 lbs. with a final stand from 600,000 to 720,000 plants per acre. Then you simply use your seed size to increase or decrease the seeding rate along with your cropping system used and your planting date.
Lastly, with the recent warmer air temperatures, soil temperatures are also high. According to our KSU Mesonet, Weather Data Library, at our 3 weather stations in our PR district including JW, OB and MC counties, the avg. 2 and 4” soil depth temperatures over the past 7 days has averaged 76 degrees. Producers need to check the coleoptile length of wheat varieties which can affect your planting depth. Categories range from short to long so the planting depth should be adjusted accordingly as higher soil temperatures tend to shorten the coleoptile length so planting too deep can affect the germination of your seed. Call or stop by the Extension Office for a copy of the different coleoptile lengths of each of the wheat varieties. Contact me if you have further questions on wheat seeding rates at any Post Rock Extension District offices.
Post Rock Extension District of K-State Research and Extension serves Jewell, Lincoln, Mitchell, Osborne, and Smith counties. Sandra may be contacted at swick@ksu.edu or by calling Smith Center, 282-6823, Beloit 738-3597, Lincoln 524-4432, Mankato 378-3174, or Osborne 346-2521. Join us on Facebook at “Post Rock Extension”. Also remember our website is www.postrock.ksu.edu and my twitter account is @PRDcrops.
Producers are or soon will be planting their 2019 wheat crop, so stay tuned for some guidelines to remember when drilling your wheat. Variety selection is one of the most challenging decisions that needs to be made, but you need to remember that the wheat seeding rate is also a very important component to establishing your wheat crop. Recommendations in Kansas are often stated in terms of pounds or seeds per acre, and vary according to different precipitation zones. However, seed size can also have an impact in the final number of seeds actually planted per acre. A variety with larger kernels or less seeds/lb., when planted according to pounds per acre recommendations, will result in fewer seeds planted per acre and thinner stands than a variety with smaller kernels. So if the weather and fertility during the growing season are NOT favorable for tiller formation and survival, grain yields may be reduced due to the thinner stand. On the other extreme, a variety with small kernels planted according to pounds per acre recommendations can result in above-optimal stand establishment, therefore increasing competition for available resources such as water and nutrients. 
Lastly, with the recent warmer air temperatures, soil temperatures are also high. According to our KSU Mesonet, Weather Data Library, at our 3 weather stations in our PR district including JW, OB and MC counties, the avg. 2 and 4” soil depth temperatures over the past 7 days has averaged 76 degrees. Producers need to check the coleoptile length of wheat varieties which can affect your planting depth. Categories range from short to long so the planting depth should be adjusted accordingly as higher soil temperatures tend to shorten the coleoptile length so planting too deep can affect the germination of your seed. Call or stop by the Extension Office for a copy of the different coleoptile lengths of each of the wheat varieties. Contact me if you have further questions on wheat seeding rates at any Post Rock Extension District offices. Post Rock Extension District of K-State Research and Extension serves Jewell, Lincoln, Mitchell, Osborne, and Smith counties. Sandra may be contacted at swick@ksu.edu or by calling Smith Center, 282-6823, Beloit 738-3597, Lincoln 524-4432, Mankato 378-3174, or Osborne 346-2521. Join us on Facebook at “Post Rock Extension”. Also remember our website is www.postrock.ksu.edu and my twitter account is @PRDcrops.
