This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies. Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: For generations, wheat planting has followed predictable seasonal patterns. But this year, unseasonably warm weather in March and April accelerated wheat growth, pushing the crop into a vulnerable growth stage when widespread freezing temperatures hit.
As weather becomes less predictable, choosing the right planting date has become more difficult. For wheat growers in Virginia, where tight margins already make every decision count, getting the timing right is a matter of survival. "Wheat's low market price and high input costs have meant that Virginia's wheat acreage has declined in recent years," said Joseph Oakes, Eastern Virginia Agricultural Research and Extension Center (AREC) superintendent and Extension specialist.
As historical weather data show a shifting climate, tools to determine ideal planting dates are vital for growers to ensure enough warm days for sufficient yield while minimizing the potential for late-spring freezes. "Research shows that plant development in the fall contributes to almost 90% of grain yield," Oakes said. "Leaving time for that growth is one of the most important things you can do for high wheat yields." Research led by Oakes and Virginia Cooperative Extension agents Robbie Longest and Turner Minx offers growers a clearer path forward.
Working with farmers in King William, New Kent, Richmond and Westmoreland counties, the team compared four planting dates, from mid-October through November, using drone-based remote sensing to monitor crop growth throughout the season. The drone-based methods were developed and validated as part of a USDA multistate grant to help farmers optimize fertilizer application in winter wheat and efficiently collect crop and field data. In this project, the team applied these monitoring and management technologies to evaluate planting dates for regional wheat growers.
The research showed how planting date can influence both yield and vulnerability to spring freezes. Planting before Nov. 1 showed no reduction in yield, giving growers confidence to shift planting dates later into October without sacrificing production. That timing gives crops enough warm weather to establish before winter while reducing the chance they will mature too early and be damaged by spring freezes.
By contrast, wheat planted in November had less time to develop before winter, resulting in reduced growth and lower yields. "It's critical to plant early enough to be established before winter, but not so early that advanced crops risk a devastating spring freeze," Oakes said. "Growers are getting squeezed on both sides: Prices are down and inputs are up, so anything that maximizes yields will benefit their operation." Depending on planting date, growers could see gains of up to 24 bushels per acre, which translates to more than $100 per acre.
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