Managing Wheat this Winter

Becks Hybird's put together a wheat management plan to follow.  They published it on Agriculture.com.  The following is the plan in a nutshell.

Wheat Management

September is upon us and that means wheat planting time.  Many farmers are getting ready to harvest their soybeans.  Although this year it looks like harvest will be later than normal.  The question for most is when do I plant wheat?  It's pretty simple.  The earlier the better.

Early Planted Wheat Offers the Following Advantages

1. Better emergence and fall growth.
2. More tillers will form in the fall with early planting.
3. Tillers that form in the fall have larger heads than tillers formed in the spring.
4. Less heaving the following spring if the nodal roots start to establish.

There Are Some Potential Disadvantages to Planting Early

1. Hessian Fly could become an issue.  Although this hasn't been an issue recently, it's best to plant after the fly free date.  See the chart above to get an idea what your date would be.  Planting prior to the fly free date can cause issues with aphids which can transmit barley yellow dwarf virus (BYDV).  BYDV hurts more when the plant gets the disease in the fall compared to the spring.
2. Early planting may cause leaf diseases in the fall which is more dangerous than in the spring.
3. The earlier you the plant the earlier the wheat will try to come out in winter.  This is influenced by genetics more so than planting date.  A late spring frost will hurt plants coming out too early.

Despite all this the potential higher yield out weighs all the dangers associated with planting early.  It is in my opinion to go ahead and plant as soon as possible.  Good luck.