Growers today are giving up their drills to plant soybeans with narrow row planters – often in 15 inch rows. This has given rise to the question – “Can I plant wheat in 15 inch rows and still make a good yield?” The answer is usually “not quite.”
For those of you who would like some guidance on selecting a variety adaptable for wider rows, or for use in relay soybean inter-cropping then Dr. Jim Beuerlein, retired Soybean and Small Grain Extension specialist, created a rating system for you used in evaluating wheat varieties in the Ohio Wheat Performance Test. The growth habit ratings are based on plant type only, evaluating plant height and canopy spread.
Wide Row (WR) is a taller plant type with a lot of canopy spread. Very little light penetration to the ground.
Relay Crop (RC) is a plant that is very upright with erect leaves. Good light penetration for inter-seeded beans.
Varieties with no rating are in the middle.
Data available by clicking here: Ohio Wheat Performance Data 2010 or directing your browser to here: http://agcrops-cms.cfaes.ohio-state.edu/corn/newsletters/2010/2010-28/Ohio%20Wheat%20Perf%20prod%20sys%20sorted.pdf/view
These ratings were made in 7.5-inch row wheat. Another report posted in an earlier CORN newsletter covered data from a 2009 trial of 7.5 vs. 15 inch row width: http://corn.osu.edu/newsletters/2010/2010-24/#6. Ohio Wheat Performance Tests comparing 7.5 to 15 inch row width wheat were also conducted around the state from 2002 to 2005, but most of those varieties are no longer available. See this 2002 Factsheet for more information on row width trials in wheat: http://ohioline.osu.edu/agf-fact/0152.html.
You can of course see the entire 2010 Ohio Wheat Performance Test on the Performance Trial website: http://oardc.osu.edu/wheattrials/default.asp?year=2010
By Harold Watters, CPAg/CCA, Rich Minyo, Jim Beuerlein