WHEAT 65 



MEASURES TO PREVENT WINTER KILLING 



Very little can be done to prevent winter killing 

 when the unfavorable conditions are present, but 

 there is more or less tendency to winter killing 

 that may be, in a measure, prevented by making 

 the growing conditions for the wheat as favorable 

 as possible. Naturally wet land should be drained. 

 A well pulverized, well settled seed bed may not 

 heave so much as a loose seed bed and the wheat 

 will not "freeze out" or dry out so quickly in a 

 firm soil, hence careful preparation of the seed 

 bed is a partial preventive. Other preventive 

 measures are medium sowing (not too late or too 

 early), pasturing a rank fall growth, and providing 

 wind breaks or shelter belts to break the wind 

 and catch the snow. Wheat seldom winter kills 

 if it has a good covering of snow all winter. 

 Rolling the wheat early in the spring to firm the 

 soil about the roots will often give much benefit 

 if the heaving has not progressed too far. 



Some varieties of winter wheat are much hardier 

 than others to resist winter killing, as shown by 

 the trials at our state experiment stations, and 

 only such should be sown, Avoid bringing seed 

 wheat from the south for seeding in northern 

 sections, since it will usually prove less hardy 

 than northern grown seed. 



CULTIVATION AFTER SEEDING 



The proper preparation of the seed bed is a 

 much more important factor in the growing of 

 small grains than the cultivation after seeding. 



5 



