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 article “Optimal time to remove cattle from wheat pastures: First hollow stem”).
First hollow stem update
To screen for FHS during this critical 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 11 March 2024, the average first hollow stem length was 0.39 cm and ranged from 0.09 to 0.75. While no variety had reached first hollow stem, all 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 February 19, 26, March 4, and March 11, 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 |
3/4/2024 |
3/11/2024 |
|
AP Prolific |
0.00 |
0.00 |
0.07 |
0.12 |
|
AP24 AX |
0.00 |
0.02 |
0.41 |
0.63 |
|
AR Iron Eagle 22AX |
0.00 |
0.00 |
0.19 |
0.70 |
|
CP 7017AX |
0.00 |
0.00 |
0.14 |
0.53 |
|
CP 7266AX |
0.00 |
0.00 |
0.12 |
0.37 |
|
CP 7869 |
0.00 |
0.00 |
0.06 |
0.22 |
|
CP 7909 |
0.00 |
0.01 |
0.18 |
0.62 |
|
Croplan CP15CW3388#011 |
0.00 |
0.00 |
0.11 |
0.32 |
|
Guardian |
0.00 |
0.00 |
0.18 |
0.28 |
|
Kivari AX |
0.00 |
0.00 |
0.19 |
0.65 |
|
KS Ahearn |
0.00 |
0.00 |
0.08 |
0.09 |
|
KS Providence |
0.00 |
0.00 |
0.07 |
0.16 |
|
Limagrain LCH16AC403-1 |
0.00 |
0.00 |
0.09 |
0.36 |
|
Polansky XP24-11 |
0.00 |
0.00 |
0.12 |
0.27 |
|
Roadrunner |
0.00 |
0.00 |
0.27 |
0.75 |
|
WB4347 |
0.00 |
0.00 |
0.02 |
0.13 |
|
Average |
0.00 |
0.00 |
0.00 |
0.00 |
|
Min. |
0.00 |
0.00 |
0.02 |
0.09 |
|
Max. |
0.00 |
0.02 |
0.41 |
0.75 |
We will report FHS updates during the next few weeks until all varieties are past this stage. Additionally, FHS is generally achieved within a few days of the stem starting to elongate, so we advise producers to monitor their wheat pastures closely at this time.
This report provides 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, but it is extremely important to monitor FHS from an ungrazed portion of each individual wheat pasture to decide whether to remove cattle from them.
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