Contact: Marsha Boswell, [email protected]

For audio version, visit kswheat.com.

Kansas wheat producers endured months, if not years, of persistent drought conditions this growing season. But when the rain finally started to fall, it brought another of the biggest challenges to wheat production – weeds. New research from Kansas State University is seeking to help find new solutions to add to farmers’ toolboxes as they battle the consistent and growing threat of post-emergent weeds.

Weeds are a consistent problem with several different types and species that compete with wheat during the cropping system. When uncontrolled, research shows yields can take a 10 to 50 percent hit depending on the density of weeds and how long they are present in the field. In addition to out-competing wheat as it grows, weeds at harvest time can mean significant delays if spraying is required before cutting, challenges in battling weeds taller than the wheat and difficulties at the elevator with dockage and having to dry down green weeds in the bin.

Wheat producers have access to two production systems specific to grass and broadleaf control – Clearfield wheat varieties that pair with Altitude FX 3 herbicide and CoAXium wheat varieties that pair with Aggressor AX herbicide. These two wheat production systems are powerful, but Dr. Mithila Jugulam, who leads the weed physiology laboratory in the K-State Department of Agronomy, noted the importance of researching the next steps in weed control in wheat to continue to provide additional options for wheat producers.

“The availability of resistance to ALS- and ACCase-inhibitor herbicides in wheat is a significant step forward with weed control options targeting both grass and broad-leaved weeds,” she said. “Nevertheless, these two technologies alone will never be enough to solve all the post-emergence weed control problems in wheat. Thus, the development of new techniques and tools should be a continuous exercise.”

To find the next addition to the weed control armory, Jugulam teamed up with Dr. Asif Mohmmad, chief scientist for Heartland Plant Innovations, and Dr. Harold Trick, a K-State plant molecular biologist with more than 35 years of experience in plant genetic transformation. The trio and their research teams sought to assess wheat germplasm for tolerance to additional herbicides that can be used for post-emergence weed control in wheat. Their initial focus was on tolerance to the selective herbicides Laudis (tembotrione) and Callisto (mesotrione), both of which have been shown to effectively and efficiently control broadleaf and grass weed species but neither of which are currently registered for use in wheat, either pre- or post-emergence.

Supported by funding from the Kansas Wheat Commission, Kansas Wheat Alliance and Kansas Crop Improvement Association, the three-year research project assessed existing varieties, experimental lines, wild relatives and mutant lines for herbicide tolerance to these two active ingredients. A large collection of germplasm representing winter and spring wheat as well as mutant lines were tested for their response to Laudis and Callisto under greenhouse conditions. Based on the herbicide symptoms and plant biomass accumulation, the least and most sensitive wheat genotypes were identified.

This initial research phase ranked these varieties and identified winter wheat genotypes developed by the Kansas Wheat Alliance with WW-1 and WW-2 being least sensitive and surviving more than six times the field-recommended rates of these herbicides compared to the most sensitive genotype, WW-24. In contrast, the spring wheat was found highly sensitive to these herbicides. The mechanism of differential sensitivity to these herbicides was also tested.

The results indicate that similar to corn (which is naturally tolerant to these herbicides), the WW-1 and WW-2 wheat genotypes can break down these herbicides into non-toxic form by activity of certain herbicide-degrading enzymes. The end goal of this extensive testing regime is to identify exactly which genes help provide tolerance to these herbicides.

Additionally, the team is also exploring CRISPR-based editing systems to pave the way to establish new herbicide-resistant varieties of wheat – the long-term aim of Jugulam’s research.

These potential new lines of herbicide-resistant wheat still have a long time before they would show up in a seed catalog for producers to purchase and plant, but getting the groundwork right will result in even more powerful and targeted tools for producers.

“The availability of diverse herbicide options for weed control is highly warranted, especially after the evolution of herbicide resistance in many major weeds in today’s agriculture,” Jugulam said. “Availability of wheat cultivars’ tolerance to these herbicides will help post-emergence control of broad spectrum of weeds throughout the cropping season, thereby reducing the crop loss due to weed competition and increasing the productivity.”

Learn more about the latest in wheat research and practice recommendations through Kansas Wheat Rx at kswheat.com/wheatrx.
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Written by Julia Debes for Kansas Wheat

Editor’s Note: The next harvest report is scheduled to be published on July 20, 2023. Look for a special edition harvest report on the hard white wheat crop on July 19.

Contact: Marsha Boswell, [email protected]

For audio file, please visit kswheat.com.

This is day 13 of the Kansas Wheat Harvest Reports, brought to you by the Kansas Wheat Commission, Kansas Association of Wheat Growers, Kansas Grain and Feed Association and the Kansas Cooperative Council.

In far western Kansas, wheat harvest is well behind schedule due to weather delays that have also brought hail damage. Despite the disruptions, elevators are generally seeing a better harvest than was anticipated this spring, although hail is hindering final yields for some and test weights are declining as producers wait for conditions to dry out enough to finish cutting.

Harvest is still going in western Wichita County, but most producers should wrap up by the weekend across the draw area for Scott Coop, according to grain merchandiser Brinlee McNary.

McNary said the crop looked pretty bleak in March, but thanks to spring rains they have taken in more bushels than they expected. Combines started rolling around July 4, about 10 days behind normal, but rain delays meant most producers spent a week out of the fields before resuming cutting.

The wheat has been high on protein, averaging 13 percent, but test weights have been falling from initial highs due to the rain, now at 58 pounds per bushel. Producers have seen a very wide range of yields from 20 to 70 bushels per acre.

Overall, McNary said Scott Coop will take in about half of their five-year average. That wheat will likely stay within the United States and be sent to flour mills or Kansas gluten plants, instead of traveling south on the rail to the Gulf of Mexico for export.

Harvest also started at least 10 days late in Sherman County, reported Brian Linin who farms near Goodland. About half of his wheat was destroyed, with crop insurance estimates of 0.6 to 1.7 bushels per acre. Linin’s 76-year-old father can’t remember having this much trouble getting wheat up in the fall in all his years of farming.

Despite the initial loss, three generations still came together to run combines this year – Brian, his father Brent and his son Blair. Test weights are averaging 58.5 pounds per bushel while proteins range from 11 to 12 percent.

Linin’s irrigated wheat is yielding 60 to 65 bushels per acre and his dryland wheat is yielding 50 to 60 bushels per acre. The range is wider than normal due to variation between heads that are not quite ripe and others that are overripe – three days ago there were still green heads in the field. Hail also hit Sherman County last week, but Linin’s wheat fields were largely spared.

“The only silver lining is that this wheat is this good,” Linin said, noting a big benefit from planting into stubble to set up yield potential. “The dryland fields are a big surprise.”

Linin will deliver his wheat to Frontier Ag or Scoular, which will go on to the domestic mill market.

Eric Sperber of Cornerstone Ag in Colby also noted that the Thomas County area has never started wheat harvest this late. The first combines finally started rolling on July 10. With high humidity, most producers can’t start cutting until early evening, but fields have finally really ripened up in the last two days.

He reported test weights are struggling, averaging just over 58 pounds per bushel. Overall protein is averaging 12.1 percent, but he’s seen from eight percent up to 14 percent. Recent hail did not zero out a lot of acres, but impacted fields are now yielding half of their pre-hail potential due to shattering. Yields range from 25 bushels per acre on hail-damaged fields up to 70 bushels per acre for dryland wheat.

Sperber said there has been a lot of variation within fields with original tillers ripening on time, followed by taller secondary tillers ripening a few days later and then suckerheads growing even taller and ripening a few days after that. Producers have faced a number of difficulties this growing season – abandoning some poor stands in the fall, battling weeds, dealing with wheat suffering from winterkill from a cold snap in December that affected wheat with poor root structure and disease pressure from rust on fields that did not have fungicide applied.

“It has been a challenging crop this year from planting to harvest,” Sperber said. “It’s been really weird.”

Harvest is now 50 to 60 percent complete and needs another seven days of average weather to finish up. Sperber said they need sunshine, otherwise, the current weather will mean harvest will take much longer. Overall, he expects they will take in about the same number of bushels as the five-year average, due to an increase in acres. He had expected more before hail struck the area.

“It’s amazing with the amount of moisture we had,” he said.

Harvest also has about a week left to go – if there’s no rain – for Mike Sieck near Edson in Sherman County. Harvest started on July 8 but has never really kicked into full swing because most days they cannot start until noon or later – some days as late as 4:00 in the afternoon – due to humidity and scattered rains.

Sieck did apply fungicide, a good decision as quite a bit of stripe rust has moved into the area in the last couple of weeks. Weeds are also a contention as they aren’t dying in the cooler weather.

Hail has also hit the area hard. Sieck will still harvest some of the hail-damaged fields for seed wheat, even though yields have decreased to 25 bushels per acre. His average for dryland wheat is 45 bushels per acre but ranges widely. Test weights are decent at 59 to 61 pounds per bushel and protein is excellent at 13.5 to 14.5 percent.

He reported WestBred’s WB 4422, a replacement for Grainfield, has done well, as have the Kansas Wheat Alliance-developed varieties – KS Providence, KS Territory and KS Hamilton. North of Bird City and St. Francis, producers caught more snow and wheat is yielding even better, some places as high as 90 bushels per acre on dryland fields.

With varying yields and weather delays, producers are ready to close the book on the 2023 wheat harvest. As they continue cutting, Kansas Wheat will continue to share results from the field with the next harvest report scheduled for July 20. Look for a special edition harvest report on the hard white wheat crop on July 19.

The 2023 Harvest Report is brought to you by the Kansas Wheat Commission, Kansas Association of Wheat Growers, Kansas Grain and Feed Association and the Kansas Cooperative Council. To follow along with harvest updates on Twitter, use #wheatharvest23. Tag us at @kansaswheat on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter to share your harvest story and photos.

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Written by Julia Debes for Kansas Wheat

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Editor’s Note: The next harvest report is scheduled to be published on July 18, 2023.

Contact: Marsha Boswell, [email protected]

For audio file, please visit kswheat.com.

This is day 12 of the Kansas Wheat Harvest Reports, brought to you by the Kansas Wheat Commission, Kansas Association of Wheat Growers, Kansas Grain and Feed Association and the Kansas Cooperative Council.

Wheat harvest continues to be a slog with producers fighting rains and weeds to get the crop across the scale. Harvest is now 71 percent complete, well behind 98 percent last year and 94 percent for the five-year average, according to the USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) crop progress report for the week ending July 16, 2023.

In the far southwestern corner of the state, Morgan Walls with Elkhart Co-op reports wheat harvest in Morton County has been a drag. Weather has been inhibitive; quality has been a challenge and weeds continue to be a struggle.

Wheat harvest here should be wrapped up by the fourth of July, but this year that’s when the first loads hit the scales. With rain delays that have continuously deteriorated test weights, wheat harvest should finally finish by the end of the week.

But it’s hard to gauge where harvest is at, as 70 to 75 percent of planted acres were zeroed out by crop insurance, and more acres were taken out by spotty hail in the last couple of weeks. Test weights are averaging lighter than preferred at about 58 pounds per bushel with protein ranging between 12 and 14 percent. Yields are all over the place, from five bushels an acre all the way up to a very small area that had timely moisture and is seeing averages around 70 bushels per acre.

Following a busy weekend of cutting in Ness County harvest is all but done, according to Brad Cowan, general manager of CGS in Bazine. After having started cutting around June 23, producers are just tired after fighting the weeds, fighting the weather and fighting green wheat.

Yields ranged from 15 to 55 bushels per acre with test weights averaging 59.6 pounds per bushel and average protein coming in consistently just short of 13 percent. Fields that were close, but not released by crop insurance, benefitted from a perfect two-week period of filling weather, resulting in yields at 25 to 30 bushels per acre.

Weeds have been a continuous struggle, which means more work for the elevators. CGS will take in about the same number of bushels as last year, which is roughly half of the five-year average. That wheat will be loaded by train onto the short line and delivered to flour mills in eastern Kansas.

Weeds are also the main struggle in Meade County, where Dave Strecker with Alliance Ag and Grain LLC reported from Fowler in the eastern part of the county. Harvest here has been going on for a long time, having started around June 27 and still only about three-quarters finished.

Strecker said grain quality is pretty good with better than average proteins, but bushels are down dramatically due to approximately 65 percent abandonment of planted acres. There are several producers who won’t bring a single bushel of wheat to town.

The wheat that is coming in is yielding 20 to 35 bushels per acre, compared to the 60 to 70 bushels per acre for a normal year. Overall, he estimated the area will take in a maximum of 25 percent of bushels compared to the five-year average.

But, by this time next week, Strecker expects that all the wheat that will be harvested will be in the bin. And that’s much-needed as the corn is tasseling. He estimated only five weeks until the first load of dryland corn arrives, not a lot of time for the elevators to turn house and prepare for fall harvest.

With triple-digit temperatures expected in coming days, producers will likely make quick harvest progress if summer storms stay away. Stay tuned as the Kansas Wheat crew continues to share results from the field with the next report scheduled for July 18.

The 2023 Harvest Report is brought to you by the Kansas Wheat Commission, Kansas Association of Wheat Growers, Kansas Grain and Feed Association and the Kansas Cooperative Council. To follow along with harvest updates on Twitter, use #wheatharvest23. Tag us at @kansaswheat on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter to share your harvest story and photos.

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Written by Julia Debes for Kansas Wheat

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