Nearly everyone’s spirits are bolstered by warm temperatures and the greening of the landscape. Those of us who live in the country enjoy seeing the vast green wheat fields breaking dormancy.

As farmers manage the wheat crop through spring into summer, it is important to understand the various growth stage of this cereal grain. From fertilizer application, to weed control; insect monitoring to fungicide consideration, knowledge of how the wheat plant progresses from early green-up through grain fill helps wheat growers best decide when and what yield enhancement inputs are needed.

The Feekes Growth Stages in Winter Wheat is mostly used in the United States for management decisions.

According to Large (1954) cereals develop as follow Feekes Growth Stages:

Tillering
1. One shoot (number of leaves can be added)
2. Beginning of tillering
3. Tillers formed, leaves often twisted spirally. In some varieties of winter wheats, plants may be “creeping” or prostrate
4. Beginning of the erection of the pseudo-stem, leaf sheaths beginning to lengthen
5. Pseudo-stem (formed by sheaths of leaves) strongly erected
Stem Extension
6. First node of stem visible at base of shoot
7. Second node of stem formed, next-to-last leaf just visible
8. Last leaf visible, but still rolled up, ear beginning to swell
9. Ligule of last leaf just visible
10. Sheath of last leaf completely grown out, ear swollen but not yet visible

Heading
10.1 First ears just visible (awns just showing in barley, ear escaping through split of sheath in wheat/oats)
10.2 Quarter of heading process completed
10.3 Half of heading process completed
10.4 Three-quarters of heading process completed
10. 5 All ears out of sheath

Flowering (Wheat)
10.1.1 Beginning of flowering (wheat)
10.1. 2 Flowering complete to top of ear
10.1.3 Flowering over at base of ear
10.1.4 Flowering over, kernel watery ripe

Ripening
11.1 Milky ripe
11. 2 Mealy ripe, contents of kernel soft but dry
11.3 Kernel hard (difficult to divide by thumb-nail)
11.4 Ripe for cutting. Straw dead

Reference: Large, E.C. 1954. Growth stages in cereals. Plant Pathol. 3:128-129.

Wheat in our area will soon race through Feekes Growth Stage 5, which is generally the optimum time for topdressing nitrogen. This pre-jointing stage may be the last time most weed control products may be applied. Scouting for soil borne virus diseases and early season foliar diseases such as powdery mildew and leaf blotch is also appropriate at this time.

At this time, reviewing field records that identify wheat varieties planted should help plan for potential disease challenges.

Too often, farmers have followed fungicide use practices that can be summed up as “Too little, too late, or did not need anyway,” a phrase stated by Ohio State University Extension’s Harold Watters at the recent West Ohio Wheat Production Workshop.

Familiarity of the Feekes Growth Stages helps farmers achieve highest profitable yields, utilizing well-chosen and timed inputs. Plan to learn more about wheat production issues in future Ohio Farm News articles.

The views and opinions expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of Farm World. Readers with questions or comments for Roger Bender may write to him in care of this publication.