2009

P

rinte

d an

d pu

blis

hed

by:

D

epar

tmen

t of A

gric

ultu

re, F

ores

try a

nd F

ishe

ries

Obt

aina

ble

from

:

Res

ourc

e C

entre

D

irect

orat

e A

gric

ultu

ral I

nfor

mat

ion

Ser

vice

s

Priv

ate

Bag

X14

4

Pre

toria

00

01

agric

ultu

re,

fore

stry

& fi

sher

ies

Dep

artm

ent:

Agr

icul

ture

, For

estry

and

Fis

herie

sR

EPU

BLI

C O

F SO

UTH

AFR

ICA

Wheat

Fur

ther

info

rmat

ion

can

be o

btai

ned

from

:

Dire

ctor

ate

Pla

nt P

rodu

ctio

nP

rivat

e B

ag X

250

PR

ET

OR

IA 0

001

Tel

:

+27

12

319

6072

Fax

:

+27

12

319

6372

E-m

ail:

D

PP

@nd

a.ag

ric.z

a

Dis

ease

con

trol

Wh

ile t

he

wh

ea

t is

gro

win

g,

farm

ers

mu

st p

rote

ct it

fro

m

dise

ases

. S

ever

al d

isea

ses

affe

ct v

ario

us p

arts

of

whe

at,

incl

ud

ing

ro

ots

, st

em

s, l

ea

ves

an

d e

ars

. L

ea

f d

ise

ase

s oc

cur

mor

e fr

eque

ntly

in t

he W

este

rn C

ape

rela

tive

to t

he

sum

mer

rai

nfal

l reg

ions

. Onl

y a

few

are

list

ed. A

nthr

acno

se,

Asc

ho

chyt

a,

Ba

cte

ria

l b

ligh

t, R

ust

, S

chle

roti

nia

(w

hit

e m

ould

). T

he c

ontr

ol fo

r th

ese

incl

udes

cro

p ro

tatio

n, u

se o

f di

seas

e-fr

ee s

eeds

or

cert

ified

see

ds, s

ched

uled

irrig

atio

n,

use

of r

esis

tant

cul

tivar

s, w

ork

in p

lant

deb

ris a

fter

harv

est-

ing

and

cons

erva

tion

tilla

ge.

Har

vest

mat

urity

and

met

hods

Wh

ea

t g

rain

s m

ust

be

dry

be

fore

it

can

be

ha

rve

ste

d.

Whe

at is

har

vest

ed in

Nov

embe

r/D

ecem

ber,

how

ever

, but

la

ter

harv

estin

gs a

re a

pplic

able

in c

ase

of s

prin

g an

d su

m-

mer

whe

at.

Onl

y fu

lly r

ipen

ed g

rain

s sh

ould

be

harv

este

d.

Har

vest

ing

shou

ld c

omm

ence

at 1

6 %

gra

in m

oist

ure

con-

tent

whi

le lo

wer

moi

stur

e co

nten

ts u

p to

13

% a

re p

refe

rred

fo

r st

orag

e. T

he s

hatte

ring

type

s m

ust b

e ha

rves

ted

earli

er

and

drie

d ar

tific

ially

. A m

achi

ne c

alle

d a

com

bine

har

vest

er

is u

sed

to c

ut, s

epar

ate

and

clea

n th

e gr

ain.

A c

ombi

ne h

ar-

vest

er m

ust b

e pr

oper

ly a

djus

ted

to m

inim

ise

grai

n lo

sses

. S

peci

al to

ols

wer

e de

velo

ped

for

harv

estin

g w

heat

:

• R

eapi

ng:

The

sic

kle

and

scyt

he a

re t

ools

tha

t ar

e us

ed

to c

ut a

nd h

arve

st w

heat

in th

e pa

st. M

echa

nica

l rea

pers

ev

entu

ally

rep

lace

d th

e ha

nd to

ols.

• T

hres

hing

: T

his

is t

he s

epar

atin

g of

the

gra

in o

r se

eds

from

the

pla

nt m

ater

ial.

The

cut

ting

and

thre

shin

g pr

oc-

ess

is c

ombi

ned

in t

he c

ombi

ne h

arve

ster

. It

coul

d cu

t w

heat

, th

resh

out

the

gra

in,

and

stor

e it

in a

bin

on

the

mac

hine

.

• W

inno

win

g: I

s th

e pr

oces

s of

sep

arat

ing

thre

shed

gra

in

from

the

chaf

f.

Use

sH

um

an

use

s: T

he

gra

in c

an

eit

he

r b

e e

ate

n w

ho

le o

r gr

ound

. F

inel

y gr

ound

whe

at is

the

sou

rce

of f

lour

for

the

w

orld

’s b

read

-mak

ing

indu

stry

.

Ind

ust

ria

l use

: G

rain

is a

so

urc

e o

f a

lco

ho

lic b

eve

rag

es.

In

dust

rial a

lcoh

ol is

mad

e in

to s

ynth

etic

rub

ber

and

expl

os-

ive

s. S

tarc

h is

use

d f

or

pa

ste

s a

nd

siz

ing

te

xtile

s. S

tra

w

is m

ade

into

mat

s, c

arpe

ts,

bask

ets,

and

use

d fo

r pa

ckin

g m

ater

ial,

cattl

e be

ddin

g an

d pa

per

man

ufac

turin

g.

Ani

mal

feed

: Bra

n fr

om fl

our

mill

ing

is a

n im

port

ant l

ives

tock

fe

ed, w

hile

ger

m is

a v

alua

ble

addi

tion

to fe

ed c

once

ntra

te.

Gra

in c

an

be

fe

d t

o li

vest

ock

wh

ole

or

coa

rse

ly g

rou

nd

. S

ome

whe

at is

cut

for

hay

. W

heat

gro

wn

for

grai

n cr

ops

is

also

use

d fo

r pa

stur

e be

fore

the

stem

s el

onga

te.

Ack

now

ledg

emen

tsA

RC

—G

rain

Cro

ps In

stitu

te

Bac

kgro

und

Th

e o

rig

in o

f th

e w

he

at

is n

ot

pre

cise

ly k

no

wn

. W

he

at

evol

ved

from

wild

gra

sses

, pro

babl

y so

mew

here

in th

e N

ear

Eas

t. A

ver

y lik

ely

plac

e of

orig

in is

the

area

kno

wn

in e

arly

hi

stor

ical

tim

es a

s th

e F

ertil

e C

resc

ent—

a re

gion

with

ric

h so

ils in

the

uppe

r re

ache

s of

the

Tig

ris-E

uphr

ates

dra

inag

e ba

sin.

Prod

uctio

n ar

eas

Pro

vin

ce

Dis

tric

t

Fre

e S

tate

X

harie

p, L

ejw

elep

utsw

a, T

habo

M

ofut

sany

ane,

Nor

ther

n F

ree

Sta

te

Wes

tern

Cap

e W

est C

oast

, Bol

and,

Ove

rber

g, C

ape

Tow

n

Nor

th W

est

Dr

Rut

h S

egom

otsi

Mom

pati,

Dr

Ken

neth

Kau

nda,

Boj

anal

a

Nor

ther

n C

ape

Fra

ncis

Baa

rd

Mpu

mal

anga

G

ert S

iban

de, N

kang

ala

Lim

popo

W

ater

berg

Sci

entif

ic n

ame:

Trit

icum

aes

tivum

Oth

er n

ames

: K

oro

(Sot

ho),

kor

ing

(Afr

ikaa

ns)

Agr

onom

ic re

quire

men

tsS

oil r

equi

rem

ents

Wh

ea

t g

row

s w

ell

in a

va

rie

ty o

f so

ils;

ho

we

ver,

loa

my

to

sand

y lo

am is

rega

rded

as

idea

l for

opt

imum

gro

wth

. W

heat

is

adv

erse

ly a

ffec

ted

by a

cidi

c so

ils,

whi

ch a

re a

ssoc

iate

d w

ith h

igh

alum

iniu

m (

Al 3+

) co

nten

t, p

artic

ular

ly d

urin

g th

e ea

rly d

evel

opm

enta

l sta

ges

of th

e cr

op. T

he s

oil p

H re

quire

d is

6,0

to 7

,5.

Clim

atic

req

uire

men

ts

Wh

ea

t is

an

an

nu

al w

inte

r a

nd

sp

rin

g c

ere

al c

rop

with

a

grow

ing

seas

on o

f ap

prox

imat

ely

130

to 1

90 d

ays.

Win

ter

wh

ea

t re

qu

ire

s a

ce

rta

in c

old

exp

osu

re (

vern

alis

ati

on

) be

fore

flow

erin

g ca

n ta

ke p

lace

. War

m te

mpe

ratu

re r

ange

s fr

om

22

to

34

°C

are

su

itab

le f

or

spri

ng

wh

ea

t a

nd

co

ol

tem

pera

ture

ran

ges

from

5 t

o 25

°C

are

sui

tabl

e fo

r w

inte

r w

heat

. An

idea

l clim

ate

for

plan

ting

whe

at c

an b

e de

scrib

ed

as

coo

l a

nd

mo

ist,

fo

llow

ed

by

a w

arm

, d

ry s

ea

son

fo

r ha

rves

ting.

In S

outh

Afr

ica

whe

rein

mos

t of t

he c

ount

ry r

e-ce

ives

sum

mer

rai

nfal

l, w

inte

r w

heat

pro

duct

ion

is d

epen

d-en

t on

suffi

cien

t res

idua

l soi

l moi

stur

e.

Rai

nfal

l

Th

e w

ate

r re

qu

ire

me

nt

for

wh

ea

t is

ab

ou

t 6

00

mm

pe

r an

num

. In

dry

area

s w

here

cul

tivat

ion

prac

tices

suc

h as

zer

o til

lage

and

min

imum

tilla

ge a

re p

ract

ised

, stu

bble

mul

chin

g is

re

com

men

ded

for

moi

stur

e co

nser

vatio

n. F

rost

can

dam

age

whe

at e

spec

ially

afte

r th

e fo

rmat

ion

of e

ars

in s

prin

g re

sult-

ing

in lo

w y

ield

. H

ail c

an a

lso

resu

lt in

ser

ious

dam

age

on

the

sum

mer

whe

at r

esul

ting

in lo

w y

ield

. Wet

wea

ther

dur

ing

harv

estin

g co

ntrib

utes

to d

isea

se p

reva

lenc

e an

d qu

ality

de-

terio

ratio

n of

gra

ins.

The

moi

stur

e ap

plic

atio

n un

der i

rrig

atio

n sh

ould

be

low

ered

dur

ing

flow

erin

g, in

crea

sed

duri

ng p

od

fillin

g an

d ce

ase

durin

g rip

enin

g.

Cul

tura

l pra

ctic

esP

ropa

gatio

n

Whe

at is

pro

paga

ted

by s

eeds

Soi

l pre

para

tion

Min

imum

till

age

(75

to 1

30 m

m d

eep)

, de

ep t

illag

e (1

50 t

o 30

0 m

m)

or n

o til

l can

be

prac

tised

dep

endi

ng o

n th

e ty

pe o

f th

e so

il, m

oist

ure

avai

labi

lity,

type

of c

ultiv

ar a

nd th

e pr

evi-

ous

crop

pla

nted

. F

irm

, sm

ooth

, w

ell-

drai

ned

field

s sh

ould

be

sel

ecte

d. T

he f

ield

sho

uld

be f

ree

from

wee

ds,

ston

es

an

d w

ate

rlo

gg

ed

co

nd

itio

ns.

Co

nto

ur

rid

ge

s, r

idg

es,

fie

ld

wat

erw

ays,

terr

aces

or

win

dbre

aks

shou

ld b

e in

trod

uced

to

the

field

to p

reve

nt w

ind

and

wat

er e

rosi

on.

Avo

id u

sing

a f

ield

tha

t w

as p

lant

ed t

o w

heat

the

pre

viou

s ye

ar o

r sa

me

year

.

Pla

ntin

g

Pla

ntin

g de

pth

shou

ld r

ange

from

2 to

5 c

m; r

ow s

paci

ng o

f 30

to 9

0 cm

is r

ecom

men

ded,

dep

endi

ng o

n av

aila

ble

wat

er

and

plan

ting

dens

ity o

f 70

to 9

0 kg

see

d/ha

-1 u

nder

dry

land

an

d 10

0 to

150

kg

seed

/ha-1

und

er ir

rigat

ion.

Pla

ntin

g da

te

for

win

ter

wh

ea

t is

fro

m m

id-A

pri

l to

mid

-Ju

ly,

de

pe

nd

ing

mu

ch o

n v

ern

alis

atio

n e

ffe

ct.

Th

e ir

rig

ate

d c

ulti

vars

are

p

lan

ted

fro

m e

arl

y Ju

ne

to

mid

-Au

gu

st.

Sp

rin

g w

he

at

is

pla

nte

d f

rom

Au

gu

st t

o S

ep

tem

be

r, d

ep

en

din

g o

n s

oil

moi

stur

e an

d on

war

mer

day

and

nig

ht t

empe

ratu

res

dur-

ing

grow

th a

nd r

epro

duct

ion.

The

see

d sh

ould

be

plan

ted

eve

nly

an

d s

ha

llow

ly i

n a

mo

ist,

fir

m s

ee

db

ed

. A

no

-till

pl

ante

r ca

n be

use

d fo

r se

edin

g or

a p

lant

er fi

tted

with

tine

s ca

n be

use

d fo

r pl

antin

g.

Fer

tilis

atio

n

Nitr

ogen

fer

tilis

er is

app

lied

thro

ugh

broa

dcas

ting

dire

ctly

be

fore

or

durin

g pl

antin

g, a

nd s

houl

d be

inco

rpor

ated

ligh

tly

into

the

soi

l. N

itrog

en f

ertil

iser

sho

uld

be r

educ

ed in

cas

e a

legu

me

crop

is fo

llow

ed b

y w

heat

. Exc

essi

ve fe

rtili

satio

n w

ith n

itrog

en s

houl

d be

avo

ided

ow

ing

to lu

xuria

nt v

eget

a-tiv

e gr

owth

with

the

res

ulta

nt lo

dgin

g. I

t is

adv

ised

tha

t ni

-tr

ogen

sho

uld

be a

pplie

d at

pla

ntin

g. D

irect

con

tact

bet

wee

n se

ed a

nd f

ertil

iser

sho

uld

be a

void

ed.

For

irri

gate

d w

heat

, to

tal o

f nitr

ogen

can

be

broa

dcas

ted

befo

re o

r at

pla

ntin

g on

cl

ayey

soi

l (>

25 %

cla

y).

Spl

it ap

plic

atio

ns a

re r

ecom

men

ded

for

sand

y so

ils, b

ut a

ll sh

ould

be

appl

ied

befo

re g

row

th s

tage

10–

12 (

late

tille

ring)

fo

r m

axim

um p

rodu

ctiv

ity.

Pot

assi

um d

efic

ienc

ies

are

sel-

dom

obs

erve

d in

the

whe

at p

rodu

ctio

n ar

eas,

as

the

Sou

th

Afr

ica

n s

oils

are

re

lativ

ely

ric

h in

po

tass

ium

. P

ota

ssiu

m

defic

ienc

ies

may

occ

ur u

nder

the

follo

win

g co

nditi

ons:

• hi

ghly

leac

hed

sand

y so

ils w

ith lo

w le

vels

of s

oil p

otas

-si

um

• co

ld a

nd/o

r w

et a

nd/o

r ve

ry d

ry c

ondi

tions

• ve

ry h

igh

mag

nesi

um a

nd/o

r ca

lciu

m c

onte

nt o

f soi

l.

Fer

tilis

er a

pplic

atio

ns s

houl

d be

bas

ed o

n th

e re

com

men

da-

tion

subs

eque

nt to

soi

l sam

plin

g.

Irrig

atio

n

Irrig

atio

n sc

hedu

ling

mus

t be

acco

rdin

g to

eva

pora

tion

and

need

s, a

s pe

r gr

owth

sta

ge.

It is

, ho

wev

er,

very

impo

rtan

t th

at ir

rigat

ion

is n

ot s

topp

ed to

o ea

rly a

nd th

e la

st ir

rigat

ion

mus

t be

appl

ied

whe

n th

e to

tal p

lant

is a

lmos

t dis

colo

ured

. T

his

is t

o e

nsu

re a

n e

ven

rip

en

ing

an

d t

o p

rod

uce

gra

in

with

a h

igh

perc

enta

ge p

lum

pnes

s an

d ac

cept

able

nitr

ogen

co

nte

nt.

Pro

pe

r ir

rig

atio

n s

che

du

ling

ca

n a

lso

min

imis

e lo

dgin

g an

d di

seas

e oc

curr

ence

and

opt

imis

e yi

eld

qual

ity.

The

met

hod

of ir

rigat

ion

will

dep

end

on th

e w

ater

ava

ilabi

lity

and

the

avai

labl

e irr

igat

ion

equi

pmen

t.

Wee

d co

ntro

l

Pla

ntin

g m

ust

be d

one

on a

cle

an f

ield

. T

his

will

avo

id u

n-n

ece

ssa

ry w

ee

d c

on

tro

l du

rin

g e

arl

y se

ed

ling

gro

wth

. A

s so

on a

s th

e cr

op h

as c

over

ed th

e so

il su

rfac

e, th

e ch

ance

s of

wee

d to

dev

elop

are

min

imal

. How

ever

, any

wee

ds d

urin

g se

edlin

g st

age

shou

ld b

e er

adic

ated

. W

eeds

can

be

con-

trol

led

chem

ical

ly, m

echa

nica

lly o

r by

any

pos

sibl

e m

eans

. T

he m

ain

inte

rest

bei

ng to

avo

id r

educ

tion

of y

ield

by

wee

ds

sin

ce t

he

y co

mp

ete

hig

hly

with

th

e d

esi

red

cro

p f

or

soil

nutr

ient

s, w

ater

and

ligh

t fur

ther

mor

e se

rvin

g as

car

riers

for

dis

ea

se a

nd

pe

sts.

Me

cha

nic

al c

on

tro

l ne

ed

s to

be

do

ne

judi

ciou

sly

to a

void

see

dlin

g in

jurie

s.

Pes

t con

trol

Wh

ea

t is

su

sce

ptib

le t

o v

ari

ou

s ki

nd

s o

f p

est

s th

at

fee

d o

n t

he

un

de

rgro

un

d a

nd

ab

ove

gro

un

d p

art

s o

f th

e p

lan

t,

nega

tivel

y af

fect

ing

the

vege

tativ

e gr

owth

, flo

wer

ing,

pod

fil

ling

, w

ate

r a

nd

nu

trie

nt

cycl

e o

f th

e p

lan

t. C

on

tinu

ou

s da

mag

e w

ithou

t tr

eatm

ent

resu

lts in

red

uced

yie

ld o

r ze

ro

yiel

ds.

Maj

or p

ests

are

Am

eric

an b

ollw

orm

, ap

hids

(gr

een

an

d b

row

n),

bla

ck m

aiz

e b

ee

tle

, b

lack

sa

nd

mit

e,

fals

e ch

inch

bug

and

mite

. The

follo

win

g cu

ltura

l con

trol

mec

ha-

nism

s ca

n be

use

d; p

rope

r cr

op r

otat

ion,

bio

logi

cal c

ontr

ol,

the

use

of

pe

st r

esi

sta

nt

culti

vars

, w

ee

d r

em

ova

l, p

rop

er

soil

prep

arat

ion,

inoc

ulat

ion

with

a c

owpe

a gr

oup

stra

in o

f rh

izob

ium

, in

terc

ropp

ing

and

avoi

d to

o m

uch

moi

stur

e or

ve

ry h

um

id c

on

diti

on

s, e

spe

cia

lly d

uri

ng

th

e f

low

eri

ng

or

harv

estin

g pe

riod.