It is a general rule throughout the world that wherever winter wheat can be successfully grown, it will be grown in preference to spring wheat.
Planting in the fall permits the plant to establish a root system before the dormancy period starts and thus makes it possible for the plants to more effectively use spring moisture, warmth, and sunshine, the farmer who sows his fields in late fall or early winter encounters none of the spring delay which would be caused by waiting until the field becomes sufficiently dry to cultivate. The only negative feature, though it can be a controlling one, is winter kill die to excessively low temperatures or insufficient snow cover.
In most instances, there are definite quality differences between wheats of winter and spring habit, but there are some exceptions.There are areas where seasons permit either spring or winter wheat to be grown. For example, in the Pacific Northwest, it is customary to sow winter wheat but if the stand is poor because of winter killing or if germination is inadequate due to dryness, it is possible to reseed in the spring and, with favorable weather conditions, produce a spring wheat crop.
Varieties of hard red winter wheat are grown under widely varying environmental conditions ranging from the eastern to the extreme western parts of the United States and in all but the coldest regions.
Even in areas of extremely cold winter weather, however, such as in Montana, considerable winter wheat is grown. The lower Midwest and the southwest states are the greatest producers of hard red winter wheat, with Kansas usually harvesting the greatest amount.
In many sections of the Southwest, where moisture is marginal, it is customary to alternate growing of wheat crop with a year of summer fallowing to conserve moisture.
Much of wheat farming in the Southwest is on very large farms that use the largest available equipment. Wheat frequently is planted with the 12 drills abreast and nearly always planted deep enough to reach moist soil.
Frequently, soil packing equipment is used to prevent rapid drying of the soil. Early plowing and early seeding of winter wheat are usually beneficial, but early seeding does expose plants to more danger from steal mosaic. There is considerable use of winter wheat for grazing.
Hard Red Winter Wheat
