Cattle should be removed from wheat pastures when the crop reaches first hollow stem (FHS). Grazing past this stage can severely affect wheat yields (for a full explanation, please refer to the eUpdate companion article: Optimal time to remove cattle from wheat pastures: First hollow stem.
First hollow stem update
In order to screen for FHS during this important time in the growing season, the K-State Extension Wheat and Forage's crew measure FHS on a weekly basis in 16 different commonly grown wheat varieties in Kansas. The varieties are in a September-sown replicated trial at the South Central Experiment Field near Hutchinson.
Ten stems are split open per variety per replication (Figure 1), for a total of 40 stems monitored per variety. The average length of the hollow stem is reported for each variety in Table 1. As of February 26, 2024, no variety had reached first hollow stem, although a couple of varieties had started to elongate their stems.
Figure 1. Ten main wheat stems were split open per replication per variety to estimate first hollow stem for this report, for a total of 40 stems split per variety. Photo by Romulo Lollato, K-State Research and Extension.
Table 1. Length of hollow stem measured on 19th and 26th of February 2024 of 16 wheat varieties sown mid-September 2024 at the South Central Experiment Field near Hutchinson. The critical FHS length is 1.5 cm (about a half-inch or the diameter of a dime). Value(s) in bold indicate the highest FHS group.
|
|
First hollow stem (cm) |
|
|
Variety |
2/19/2024 |
2/26/2024 |
|
AP Prolific |
0 |
0 |
|
AP24 AX |
0 |
0.02 |
|
AR Iron Eagle 22AX |
0 |
0 |
|
CP 7017AX |
0 |
0 |
|
CP 7266AX |
0 |
0 |
|
CP 7869 |
0 |
0 |
|
CP 7909 |
0 |
0.01 |
|
Croplan CP15CW3388#011 |
0 |
0 |
|
Guardian |
0 |
0 |
|
Kivari AX |
0 |
0 |
|
KS Ahearn |
0 |
0 |
|
KS Providence |
0 |
0 |
|
Limagrain LCH16AC403-158 |
0 |
0 |
|
Polansky XP24-11 |
0 |
0 |
|
Roadrunner |
0 |
0 |
|
WB4347 |
0 |
0 |
|
Average |
0 |
0.00 |
|
Min. |
0 |
0 |
|
Max. |
0 |
0.02 |
We will report the first hollow stem in the next few weeks until all varieties are past this stage. Additionally, first hollow stem is generally achieved within a few days from when the stem starts to elongate, so we advise producers to closely monitor their wheat pastures at this time.
This report intends to provide producers with an update on the progress of the first hollow stem development in different wheat varieties. Producers should use this information as a guide. Still, it is extremely important to monitor FHS from an ungrazed portion of each individual wheat pasture to decide on removing cattle from wheat pastures.
Contact author:
Romulo Lollato, Wheat and Forages Specialist
lollato@ksu.edu
Co-authors:
Luiz Otavio Pradella, Master Student
Maximo Nores Allende, Visiting scholar
Aaron Gama, Visiting scholar
Gabriely Fattori, Visiting scholar
Gabriel Corte, Visiting scholar
Sarah Brancani, Visiting scholar