“Stand By Your Wheat”

How to Create the Best Wheat Stand Before Winter Dormancy

Locus AG Agronomist David Dyson discusses how biologicals can help boost wheat production to overcome declining prices

Winter wheat planting is fast approaching, and wheat farmers are making pivotal choices that will determine their harvest’s success. One of the most important factors is ensuring a strong, healthy stand before winter dormancy. This foundation is crucial to achieving a productive wheat crop.

But how can farmers get the best wheat stand? The key to achieving this is by incorporating biological into the planting process. Certain strains are emerging as a vital input to give wheat crops a needed edge.

US Wheat Production is Making a Comeback

Wheat has always been a secondary crop behind other row crops such as corn and soybeans. Often it was relegated to manure management or put in the rotation for drainage tile installation. However, disruptions in shipping through the Black Sea in recent years created worldwide grain shortages that shifted wheat demand.

While it continues to come in behind other major row crops in acreage and value, U.S. wheat production is on an upward trend. According to the USDA, 2024 wheat production will reach the highest level in five years, up 5% from 2023 and hitting an estimated 1.9 billion bushels. Despite overall wheat acreage being down approximately 5%, the projected harvest of winter wheat is also strong, with yield increases of around 2% to 49.5 bushels per acre.

Combatting Declining US Wheat Prices

Despite promising increases in US wheat production, prices for the crop continue to decline. The USDA reports that farm-level wheat prices were down 29.4% in July 2024 compared to July 2023. The 2024/2025 marketing year wheat price is projected to be $6, compared to $7.10 for the 2023/24 marketing year.

With lower bushel prices and less acres, maximizing yield is crucial for a successful wheat crop. This starts with a strong wheat stand.

Two Crucial Factors in Wheat Planting

A profitable wheat crop takes more than planting the seed and hoping for the best; hope is never a good strategy. Planning and preparation are the keys for success in any venture you pursue, especially in wheat planting, where you have one chance to get everything right.

The most important pass you will make across your field will be the planting pass.

When planting wheat, there are two factors that are vital for a successful crop:

1. Getting the accurate number of seeds per acre
2. Placing those seeds correctly

Why? Because the success of an abundant emerged wheat crop depends on proper placement of the seeds.

What Should Your Wheat Stand Count Be? 

You want the final emerged wheat stand count to be in the ballpark of 1.7 million plants per acre. This will create enough plants to combat weeds, while not overcrowding the wheat crop. Remember, every plant will tiller out and create a head with grain by next July, more plants, more heads, and more grain.

What Nutrients are Necessary for a Successful Wheat Crop?

According to Purdue, a 100-bushel wheat crop will need up to 138 pounds of mono ammonium phosphate (MAP) and 213 pounds of the fertilizer, Potash. (See figure 1 for an easy-to-understand chart on nutrient removal for various crops.)    

Figure 1: This nutrient removal chart from Purdue University can be found at https://www.agry.purdue.edu/ext/corn/news/articles.08/pkfert-0915.html

As fertilizer prices remain elevated, we need every pound we put into each wheat crop to be available to the plant.

Commercial fertilizers, such as MAP and Potash, can take several months to be fully available to the crop. Organic fertilizer, such as crop residue and animal manure, can take years to be available to the crop. Yet, having enough nutrients for that little seedling to survive will guarantee a proper final emerged wheat stand.  So how can we speed up the availability of these crucial nutrients?  

Vital Biological Strains Enhance Nutrient Uptake & Emergence in Winter Wheat

Locus Agriculture (Locus AG) has the solution for both a consistent emerged population and greater nutrient availability in winter wheat crops. The input company developed Rhizolizer^® Duo for Wheat & Cereals, a line of biological seed treatments proven to enhance nutrient uptake and emergence.

• What are the biologicals? Rhizolizer Duo for Wheat & Cereals are seed-applied biologicals developed specifically for grain applications. The living biological products contain vital strains of microbes, including a beneficial bacteria strain and fungal strain.
• How are the biologicals applied to wheat? Rhizolizer Duo for Wheat & Cereals biologicals are available in both box-applied (BA) and liquid seed treatments (ST). The advantage of the box applied (BA) treatments is that there is no need for complicated seed treating equipment. With just a twist of the wrist, the exceptionally fine talc/graphite carrier will cling to the seed and the biologicals will be carried down into the soil. The advantage of the liquid seed treatments (ST) is seed dealers can apply it directly to the seed, so wheat farmers don’t have to worry about applying it during the planting season.
• How do the biologicals work? The synergistic Bacillus amyloliquefaciens and Trichoderma harzianum strains both enter the roots at day zero and grow up inside the wheat plant. They create a bigger and more robust root system, which mineralizes nutrients quickly and helps transport the available nutrients up into the plant. This creates an environment that supports a faster and greater volume of emergence.

Read more about Locus AG’s Rhizolizer line of biologicals.

Rhizolizer Duo for Wheat & Cereals provides producers with a safe and sustainable way to mineralize commercial or organic nutrients quicker. When more nutrients are available to the crop, you will get a better stand and a more vigorous crop. Better stands and a more vigorous crop will produce more grain.

Wheat Producers Get 3-Year Yield Boost with 95% Confidence

Rhizolizer Duo for Wheat & Cereals is proven to consistently increase wheat yields by an average of 5% over three years with a 95% confidence rate. The biological has been used successfully in more than a dozen independent university and contract research organization (CRO) trials across key wheat growing states. This includes trials that were randomized and replicated 4 times over three years.

The biologicals consistently average a 4.1 bushel per acre yield increase, with some areas seeing even greater improvements. Almost all of the results are statistically significant, meaning a 95% confidence rate that wheat farmers will see the same increases every time. (Figure 2).

Figure 2: This data was captured from third-party Universities and CROs located in 8 key wheat-growing states. The difference between the grower practice and Rhizolizer Duo was statistically significant in all but one trial.

Results like that can make or break a growing season. Wheat growers need every bushel they can get.

Don’t leave wheat harvest to chance. The Rhizolizer Duo for Wheat & Cereals biological products can not only make more nutrients available in the soil and to the wheat crop but will increase yield and money in farmers’ pockets.

Lock in Locus AG’s biological inputs now to secure higher yields for this year and beyond.

Contact Locus AG

For more information on soil biologicals and how they can help you maximize your wheat stand this season, contact us using the form below.

About the Author: David Dyson is the lead agronomist for Locus AG. He is an Indiana native and grew up on a dairy farm in the north central part of the state. Dave is a graduate of Purdue University with a degree in Crop & Soil Science. He has worked in the ag industry for 25+ years and has an extensive knowledge of various agronomic topics. If you have any questions, Dave can be reached using the form below.