Winter wheat harvest is now complete and growers expect to be seeding the 2020 winter wheat crop across the province, according to the latest crop report from Ontario’s Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA).
Yields have been better than expected for many, according to OMAFRA. September planted wheat ranges from 100-130 bushels per acre (bu/ac), early October wheat ranges from 80-100 bu/ac and late October planted wheat yielded from 30 to 70 bu/ac.
Other highlights from the latest crop report include:
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- Long-term research at the University of Guelph’s Ridgetown campus shows that winter wheat in rotation provides an additional 10 bushels per acre to corn and five bushels to soybeans.
- Ontario research has also generally found that the more frequently a small grain like wheat is in rotation, the higher the soil organic matter.
- Wheat also provides an opportunity to seed a cover crop. In the case of red clover, the economics are clear: a full stand of red clover provides a nitrogen credit of 65-80 lbs per acre to the following corn crop.
- A review of decades’ worth of Ontario research has shown that when soil test phosphorus is within the range of 12-18 ppm (Olsen), starter fertilizer rates (i.e. 20-30 lbs P2O5/acre) achieve the most economic response for field crops.
- Growers are encouraged to use the period after wheat harvest to take soil samples. If growers have soil test levels that have slipped in the last number of years, summer is an excellent time to apply phosphorus or potassium fertilizer with a low risk of environmental losses.
Read more in the latest crop report from OMAFRA’s field crop team.
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