At the 2023 Women in Agriculture Conference, Farm Director KC Sheperd caught up with Oklahoma State University small grains extension specialist, Dr. Amanda Silva, and talked about the 2023 wheat crop and the upcoming planting season.
Silva said this year has been one of the most challenging years for winter wheat overall in the state of Oklahoma. There were issues with planting to drought almost the entire season, Silva said, and then when it came time to harvest, there was too much moisture.
“That was the longest harvest we have had in a long time in the program,” Silva said.
Considering the conditions, Silva said the wheat ended up doing pretty well. For the fields that were able to survive the harsh environment, Silva said, the yields were good.
“This year, it seems like we saw a change in pattern,” Silva said. “Usually, in our north-central area, it does a lot better than our southern-southwest area. I think this year we kind of had a switch, and that was just because of moisture.”
Looking at different varieties, Silva said there was definitely a genetic component in some varieties that grew better in the drought.
“Our growers can see on the results we posted on our website,” Silva said. “You can see in different locations some that tend to do a little bit better in those environments.”
Silva also talked about what producers should consider as they enter this next planting season.
“One of the things I really like to remind growers is about volunteer wheat, especially with all the late rains we have had,” Silva said. “Controlling that volunteer wheat is not only important for our own farm but also protecting our neighbors.”
Silva said viruses can be transmitted from volunteer wheat to different wheat crops.
“Managing herbicide or tillage to kill that volunteer wheat is extremely important, and keep in mind that volunteer wheat needs to be brown-dead for two weeks before planting,” Silva said.
Silva also talked with Sheperd about planting wheat earlier and using it for dual-purpose wheat and varieties to consider as they enter this next planting season. Click the audio above to hear the full conversation!
