November 3, 2010

Ohio farmers on track for successful wheat crop

With nearly all of Ohio's winter wheat planted, farmers are on track for a potentially successful crop, according to the Ohio Agricultural Statistics Service.

"This year, corn and soy have come off in a timely manner, so most of our wheat has been planted under decent conditions. Reports from across the state indicate that wheat so far is looking good," said Pierce Paul, an Ohio State University wheat specialist with the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Centre.

Paul said that because of the early harvest of corn and soy, farmers got a jump on good wheat establishment. In some cases, this included planting before the Hessian fly free date, which could potentially lead to some disease problems in the spring due to fall establishment of some pathogens.

The Hessian fly free date - ranging from September 22 in northern Ohio to October 5 in southern Ohio - is designed to prevent the development and spread of the Hessian fly, which can cause significant damage to wheat. In addition, the Hessian fly free date is also an ideal period to minimise disease development, one example being barely yellow dwarf disease.

Paul said that to minimise winter kill and disease problems in the spring, farmers should adhere to the Hessian fly free dates when planting wheat.

Ohio farmers are anticipated to increase their acreage of wheat in 2011, largely due to an increase in projected wheat prices.