In this week’s first hollow stem (FHS) measurements, we observed great variability among individual plants. However, despite the warm temperatures during the past weed, none of the varieties in our replicated trial in Hutchinson has reached FHS. As of March 2, a few of the 40 stems measured per variety were close to or had reached FHS in the most early-release varieties, such as WB4303 and Gallagher (Figure 1). But averaged over 40 stems, none of the varieties had reached FHS at time of measurements.
Figure 1. A few plants from early-release varieties such as WB 4303 (about 1.1 cm hollow stem) and Gallagher (beyond FHS in this photo) had elongated stems as of March 2. Still, the average of all stems measured had not reached FHS for any variety as of that date. Photos by Brent Jaenisch, graduate research assistant, K-State Research and Extension.
The average length of hollow stem for each variety is reported in Table 1. As of March 2, the more advanced varieties have between 0.65 and 0.73 cm of hollow stem and therefore are not yet at FHS, -- which occurs at 1.5 cm (about a half-inch). As of March 2, the more advanced varieties are WB4303, Overley, Gallagher, WB-Cedar, and 1863; but none has yet reached FHS.
Producers grazing cattle on wheat in the south central region of Kansas, near Hutchinson, should be scouting their individual fields for FHS to make the decision of when to take cattle off their wheat pasture. Cattle might need to be removed from some fields within the next few days, depending on variety and weather conditions.
Wheat near the southern border of Kansas should be more advanced in its development. Producers in far southern Kansas who currently graze their wheat and intend to harvest it for grain should be actively scouting their fields for FHS and possibly should already be removing cattle from wheat pasture at this time. For more details on how to scout for FHS, please refer to Agronomy eUpdate article “Optimal time to remove cattle from wheat pastures: First hollow stem” in the Feb. 5, 2016 issue).
Table 1. Length of hollow stem measured on March 2, 2016 of 23 wheat varieties sown Sept. 26, 2015 near Hutchinson. The critical FHS length for purposes of cattle removal is 1.5 cm.
|
Variety |
Hollow stem length |
|
cm |
|
|
1863 |
0.65 |
|
Bentley |
0.45 |
|
Danby |
0.43 |
|
Doublestop CL Plus |
0.43 |
|
Duster |
0.43 |
|
Everest |
0.53 |
|
Gallagher |
0.77 |
|
KanMark |
0.58 |
|
LCS Chrome |
0.42 |
|
LCS Mint |
0.44 |
|
LCS Pistol |
0.55 |
|
LCS Wizard |
0.47 |
|
Overley |
0.70 |
|
Ruby Lee |
0.54 |
|
SY Flint |
0.53 |
|
SY Wolf |
0.47 |
|
T158 |
0.46 |
|
TAM 114 |
0.53 |
|
WB4303 |
0.75 |
|
WB4458 |
0.61 |
|
WB-Cedar |
0.78 |
|
WB-Grainfield |
0.53 |
|
WB-Redhawk |
0.61 |
|
Variety |
p < 0.01 |
|
LSD |
0.13 |
The intention of this report to is provide producers a weekly update on first hollow stem of different wheat varieties in the current growing season. Producers should use this information as a guide, but it is extremely important to monitor FHS from an ungrazed portion of each individual wheat pasture when making the decision to remove cattle from wheat pastures.
Romulo Lollato, Wheat and Forages Specialist
lollato@ksu.edu
DooHong Min, Forage Agronomist
dmin@ksu.edu
Rafael Maeoka, Assistant Scientist
maeoka@ksu.edu
Amanda de Oliveira Silva, Graduate Research Assistant
adeolive@ksu.edu
Brent Jaenisch, Graduate Research Assistant
bjaenisch5@ksu.edu
Gary Cramer, Agronomist-in-Charge, South Central Experiment Field
gcramer@ksu.edu
Tags: