Management Practices for Improved Winter Survival of Winter Wheat in North Dakota
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Abstract
Hard red winter wheat (winter wheat, Triticum aestivum L.) production has been
historically low in ND due to cold winter temperatures resulting in winter injury and stand
loss. The objective of this research was to determine if management practices could
improve winter survival and yield of winter wheat. Field experiments were conducted at
five locations. Due to high winter snowfall, there was little difference in snow depth and
winter survival between previous crop residues. Planting at the recommended date always
resulted in the highest winter survival compared to planting late. At Hettinger, soil
temperatures reached nearly -15°C, and as a result, the less-hardy cultivar Hawken had
only 50% winter survival. Differences in fertility treatment were not consistent across
location during this study. ND soils are inherently high in P and K, so it is likely the high
soil nutrient levels masked any potential benefit to seed-applied P and K.