Over the last two decades, Ohio has seen a consistent decrease in harvested hectares of soft red winter wheat (SRWW) [Triticum aestivum L.]. Low profitability compared to large scale corn and soybean production is the main contributing factor. Management decisions play a pivotal role in deciding wheat profitability. Alterations to current wheat management package can have severe implications on grain yield and quality, thereby affecting farmer profitability. Hence, it is imperative to optimize management strategies that can have a positive impact on grain yield and quality, as a measure of improving farmer profitability. Planting date and harvest stage are two key management decisions that can have severe implications on grain yield and quality. The first goal of this study was to re-evaluate wheat seeding rate recommendations under a range of plating dates expanding across early, timely and late planting scenarios to improve yield, economic return, and end-use quality. During the 2021-2022 and 2022-2023 growing seasons at two locations in western and northwest Ohio, multiple plating dates were evaluated under five seeding rates using a split-plot randomized complete block design with four replications. Grain yield, grain protein, test weight and Fusarium head blight (FHB) incidents were measured. Agronomic optimum seeding rates (AOSR) for early, timely and late planted wheat were 6.05, 3.14 and 4.66 million seeds ha-1, respectively. Economic optimum seeding rates were 51.4% and 13.7% lower compared to their respective AOSRs at early and late plantings. For timely planted wheat, AOSR and EOSR were similar. When planted late, grain protein decreased with increasing seeding rates and for early plantings, it increased with higher seeding rates. Test weights decreased with increasing seeding rates. FHB incidents were significantly higher for early planted wheat. Results suggest the possibility of lowering seeding rates for early and timely planted wheat with a foliar fungicide application at anthesis and a 10-15% increase in seeding rates when planting is delayed.
The second goal of this study was to evaluate the harvest stage and varietal impacts on winter wheat grain quality and baking and milling properties to justify early harvesting. Field experiments were conducted in 2021-2022 and 2022-2023 growing seasons at the Ohio State University research farms in Wayne County, Wooster, Ohio, USA. Three Korean and three U.S. winter wheat varieties were grown and harvested at approximately 20%, 16%, and 13% grain moisture contents. A complete baking and milling quality analysis of the harvested grain was carried out at the USDA Soft Wheat Quality Laboratory (SWQL) in Wooster, Ohio, USA. Harvest stage had a greater impact on grain quality from a producer’s perspective than it did on milling and baking properties. Also, grain quality responses to harvest stage were highly variety dependent. In the varieties that did respond to harvest stage, there was a general trend of higher test weights, kernel hardness, kernel weights and lower kernel protein with earlier harvests. Response of falling number to harvest stage was not consistent and could be highly weather dependent. In contrast, response of milling and baking properties to harvest stage were much less. Softness equivalence (SE), lactic acid, sucrose, and sodium carbonate solvent retention capacities, which in general were lower with earlier harvests had the greatest impact of harvest stage. Response of flour protein, flour yield (only responded in the 2021-2022 season) and water retention capacity were not significant. The possibility of adopting earlier harvesting (closer to a grain moisture of 20%) practice is possible without a considerable impact on milling and baking qualities. However, it should be done with considerations to grain quality impacts from a producer’s point of view as well. Variety selection based on the end use of grain would be the producer’s best option when it comes to earlier harvesting.