{"id":2396,"date":"2023-10-16T17:29:10","date_gmt":"2023-10-16T17:29:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/agrilife.org\/texasrowcrops\/?p=2396"},"modified":"2023-10-16T17:29:10","modified_gmt":"2023-10-16T17:29:10","slug":"is-there-any-meaningful-value-in-volunteer-wheat","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/agrilife.org\/texasrowcrops\/2023\/10\/16\/is-there-any-meaningful-value-in-volunteer-wheat\/","title":{"rendered":"Is there any meaningful value in volunteer wheat?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u00a0Occasional stands, though \u201cfree,\u201d tend to hold false promise.<\/em><\/p>\n

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Calvin Trostle, Ph.D., Professor & Extension Agronomist, TAMU Dept. of Soil & Crop Sciences, Lubbock, (806) 746-6101, ctrostle@ag.tamu.edu<\/a><\/p>\n

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A Floyd Co., Texas farmer sent the pic below of what I regard as the \u201cbest\u201d stand of volunteer wheat I have ever seen.\u00a0 \u201cWhat will happen to this wheat?\u201d the farmer asked.\u00a0 \u201cCan I use it?\u201d<\/p>\n

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Fig. 1.<\/strong>\u00a0 Volunteer wheat in Floyd Co. that is thick enough to prompt questions about whether a farmer could keep this stand in lieu of terminating and seeding a new crop.\u00a0 (Photo courtesy Ronnie & Cutter Ragland.)<\/p>\n

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This wheat stand is thick enough it challenges us to think maybe the farmer could keep it and save seed costs, planting, etc.\u00a0 Is this a case of \u2018A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush\u2019?<\/em>\u00a0 I have known numerous Texas wheat fields over the years where it appears tempting to hang on to a volunteer field as a potential crop.\u00a0 It feels like a free crop of wheat.\u00a0 Afterall, wheat is a variety (unlike a hybrid) so last year\u2019s TAM 204 or TAM 115 is still same.<\/p>\n

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Alas, most of these wheat fields never seem to deliver much sustained productivity.\u00a0 (If you know of a volunteer wheat field success, I would like to learn about it.)\u00a0 Yes, the farmer didn\u2019t pay for the seed, the stand, etc.\u00a0 But in general, AgriLife\u2019s observes these stands lack vigor and durability of production.\u00a0 They are generally not<\/em> worth keeping.<\/p>\n

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Disease Potential in Volunteer Wheat<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Many stands of volunteer wheat I have seen (High Plains) have not been healthy as they grow further into the fall.\u00a0 Scott Strawn, AgriLife Extension agent, Ochiltree Co. (top of the Texas Panhandle) notes that volunteer wheat in his area, especially if emerging early in August, is especially prone to poor health.\u00a0 It is rarely if ever worth keeping, no matter how good it looks.<\/p>\n

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The culprit is Wheat Streak Mosaic Virus (WSMV).\u00a0 Being a virus the only means to control this disease is through resistant\/tolerant varieties (which many TAM and company varieties are) and cultural practices.\u00a0 WSMV is carried by the wheat curl mite.\u00a0 Though this insect is a weak flyer, it moves WSMV not so much from one field to the next rather, from one wheat crop to the next wheat crop in the same field<\/em>.\u00a0 This bridging of disease can be the downfall of volunteer wheat.\u00a0 Fields need to be clean for a couple weeks for the wheat curl mite to die out and before the next wheat crop is seeded.<\/p>\n

For further information:<\/p>\n