Edmonton, AB, July 23, 2010

Ducks Unlimited Canada (DUC) encourages growers to keep their tillage equipment out of the fields if they plan on seeding winter wheat this year.

Discing or tilling increases the risk of winter kill when seeding winter wheat. Winter wheat works best when stubble is conserved to trap snow cover throughout the winter, insulating the winter wheat crop from cold air temperatures.

“Growers considering seeding winter wheat into unseeded chemfallow acres need to conduct weed control operations with stubble conservation in mind,” says Paul Thoroughgood, regional agrologist for DUC. “Allowing weeds to grow to a reasonable size prior to spraying can help increase the snow trapping ability of chemfallow”.

If glyphosate is being used to kill weeds, care must be taken to understand the weed species in the field as additional chemistry may be needed to kill all weeds, especially if they are large Roundup Ready volunteers, buckwheat or cleavers.

If weeds are too tall or too dense, growers may have to consider heavy harrowing to allow seeding into stubble without plugging.

Seeding winter wheat into chemfallow requires different planning than seeding into other stubble. Ensure you take the proper steps to help you plan, prepare and seed successfully. Visit growwinterwheat.ca to download your checklist on how to seed winter wheat into chemfallow.

Sign up for the Winter Wheat Grower Incentive Program to take advantage of financial incentives to seed winter wheat this fall. DUC and Bayer CropScience are offering incentives through their Winter Cereals: Sustainability in Action initiative. To sign up, call 1-866-384-DUCK. Winter wheat offers yields up to 40 per ent higher than spring wheat. Plus, winter wheat helps the environment by providing wildlife habitat.

For further information, please contact:

Marci Dubé
National Communications Manager
Ducks Unlimited Canada
m_dube@ducks.ca
Ph: (780) 930-1242