Egyptian Wheat

[dbltree]

May 31st, 2012

I was able to get Egyptian Wheat screens planted on 5 farms this past week...just in time for 3/4" of rain that we desperately needed. Aaron Palm at Iowa-Missouri Hybrids carries EW seed and will sell it by the pound until he runs out 641-919-1695

I spread 100-200#'s of 46-0-0 urea on and tilled it in

Very small seed so if using a bag seeder or ATV seeder use cation not to over seed it! Open the gate just enough to allow some seeds to fall thru and lock it there when broadcasting and shoot for 6-8#'s per acre.

I weighed out enough for an acre

and then used my drill which has an accurate acre meter.

I used the large seed box and set the cups at the smallest setting

and found that if set on 7.5 on range 1 it put's on about 6# per acre

I also planted some set on 10 and 15 so we'll see how the various pops turn out. EW can be planted an inch deep although just covered is fine (broadcast on tilled soil and cultipack to cover) but the powder dry soils were way to soft allowing the drill to sink

Even with the drive wheel set on the shallowest setting I had to use the 3 pt lift to adjust for the soft soils

and finally got it drilling at roughly an inch deep

a hard spot like in a drive or lane is a good place to check seed count

I planted screens along crop fields

In tree plantings

and field borders

where we have red cedars that will eventually provide a screen and the EW will no longer be needed

I also planted with a Brillion seeder with it set on 3 for closest to 6-8# range in small seed box

The two packers make for a perfect seed bed

but do not always cover seed as well as a drill

"Tire tines" help re-loosen soil compacted by the tractor tires

Again road and field screens along with creating an "edge" in a feeding area that deer follow past a stand

Planted some sorghum and milo with EW in one area

In this case to include some feed along with the cover

I sprayed all the screens with 2 1/2 # of atrazine right after planting although simazine is another option

I'm not aware of a faster growing, taller annual then EW and hard to imagine anything less expensive...get some seed and nitrogen and get your screens planted...anytime thru early July will work :way:

 

[SoDakarcher]

Paul,
Do you think your drill settings will be the same for the 10 ft. GP drill? I was also admiring your ATV Spreader. Are you using that model to spread both fertilizer and seed? Would you go with the same product and front mount. As always , thanks for your help.

 

[dbltree]

Paul,
Do you think your drill settings will be the same for the 10 ft. GP drill? I was also admiring your ATV Spreader. Are you using that model to spread both fertilizer and seed? Would you go with the same product and front mount. As always , thanks for your help.

Yes...width of drill shouldn't matter and the Fimco spreader is awesome! I use it for both seed and fertilizer depending on the situation but mostly use it to spread fertilizer on narrow plantings such as EW because it has a variable speed control to spread urea anywhere from 5' to 45' :way:

 

[12 point]

Paul-How well does your fimco spread clover & other small seeds.Is there any pro's or con's with your new spreader.Thanks.

 

[dbltree]

Paul-How well does your fimco spread clover & other small seeds.Is there any pro's or con's with your new spreader.Thanks.

It does very well with all types of seeds and fertilizers, the on;y thing with the way I have it mounted on my Ranger is that I can not reach the handle to open/shut the opening with out hopping out and then jumping back in...not a big deal and if mounted on an ATV it is within easy reach.

I have more details in my thread on seeders and spreaders in the Equipment section

I have spread tiny clover and switchgrass seed with it and it works great...:way:

 

[DUG]

Egyptian Wheat replant

Does anyone know how long Egyptian wheat will lay in the ground before it will come up? I planted my Egyptian wheat 3 weeks ago and some parts came up where there was good moisture but we have been extremely dry for the last month and a lot of it hasn't sprouted yet. Was wondering if I need to replant or wait for the rain?

 

[goatman]

I wouldn't worry about replanting. You need rain and send it north.

 

[dbltree]

Does anyone know how long Egyptian wheat will lay in the ground before it will come up? I planted my Egyptian wheat 3 weeks ago and some parts came up where there was good moisture but we have been extremely dry for the last month and a lot of it hasn't sprouted yet. Was wondering if I need to replant or wait for the rain?

See if the following answers your question but 3 weeks is a long time, however without rain re-planting may not be helpful either.

June 9th, 2012

When we have normal or above normal levels of precipitation many seeds merely have to make soil contact to germinate and grow but abnormally dry soils are a different story. There are two common scenarios when planting into dry soils....seeds in dry soils with no moisture may lay there for a month or more and germinate when they receive sufficient moisture. On soils with enough moisture to germinate the seeds but not enough to keep them alive and growing, the seedling dies and we have no choice but to replant.

When dry weather is a problem it is important then to plant seeds in the moisture zone within the depth parameters for the given seed type. Sorghum and milo seeds are normally planted at a depth of 1 inch in heavy soil and 1 1/2 to 2 inches in sandy soil, Egyptian Wheat seed falling into that same range but slightly deeper when moisture is a problem.

When broadcasting seeds it becomes trickier to get the seeds deep enough so typically I till, broadcast onto the loose fluffy soils and then cultipack to cover, which then presses seeds from a 1/2 to 1.0" deep depending on soils.

This spring I was able to plant EW with both a Brillion seeder and a drill...the Brillion is perfect for planting small seeds which are often planted too deep, but not very effective when larger seeds need to be planted deeper.

The front packer firms soil, the seed drops and the second packer covers or presses seed into the top 1/4" of soil.

The drill however can be adjusted to plant at a depth that is appropriate for the seed type and soil conditions

Typically rain falls at least one day in three in most of Iowa but for 19 days we had not so much as a drop on already dry soils, unusual and adverse conditions that have caused spotty germination of corn and soybeans across the state. It has also given me a chance to compare the to planters and planting depths.

The Brillion leaves behind a beautiful seedbed...

but with little rain since planting, germination has been slow at best

Seed continues to germinate but unless we get significant rain the shallow planted seed may not germinate and the population will be thin.

the germ rate of the drilled seed however is significantly higher

On four different farms with varying soil types the result is the same

The seeds firmly planted 1+ deep into the moisture zone allowed for rapid germination

Without a drill it is still relatively easy to get the seeds in the moisture zone by lightly tilling, harrowing or dragging the seeds in before cultipacking to cover the seeds and firm the seedbed.

Once germinated, EW (like most sorghum/milo crops) can do very well in dry land conditions and I planted EW the first part of July last year that did not receive a drop of rain until August 30th last year, yet still reach 10-12' heights.

Keep planting depth in tune with soil conditions and weather forecasts to help increase your odds of success. With forecast in our area showing little chance of rain in the coming weeks, we'll be putting our EW to the test this summer... :way:

 

[x26zcc]

If you were to choose would you plant Cave in the Rock Switch once or EW every year for road security? Road and feild is about level.

 

[Sligh1]

If you were to choose would you plant Cave in the Rock Switch once or EW every year for road security? Road and feild is about level.

EW and trees. Cir might help a little but not the best for screens. Cir is generally 5-6 feet tall vs EW at 10-12+. A regular truck can easily see or shoot over Cir. Can't shoot over or even see past EW.

 

[jerred44]

My dad is limited on time, can he mow a strip near the fence line, rake it off, then spray roundup, wait a week and can he then put some seed down using a hand spreader but not till up the area? we dont have a working disc at the moment. if he did it before a rain would that work or would it be a waste of time

 

[dbltree]

would it be a waste of time

Yes...EW needs to be planted and it needs plenty of nitrogen so the chances of it even germinating let alone growing would be very very slim. While almost anything is possible given all the right circumstances I would say the odds of this succeeding would be very low.

 

[Spiider]

Does anyone know how long Egyptian wheat will lay in the ground before it will come up? I planted my Egyptian wheat 3 weeks ago and some parts came up where there was good moisture but we have been extremely dry for the last month and a lot of it hasn't sprouted yet. Was wondering if I need to replant or wait for the rain?

Hello. I'm in this same boat here in Michigan. I've had 2" of rain since I put the EW down the first weekend of Memorial Day. I've got very spotty sprouts thus far with a partially shaded strip that has done the best with 4-6 sprouts every couple feet (3-4" tall), most have 1-3 sprouts every few feet and some areas simply have nothing. I read the follow up to this quoted comment and wondered if I could broadcast a little more right before a rain and cultipack it in (or any method without killing what has already come up). I initially spread enough for 6lbs/acre (.7 total) and could add enough for a total of 8lbs/acre total. I could also safely add another bag of Urea before a rain.

I just want to make the most of what I have already, if possible. We still don't have much rain in the forecast so I'd hate to start again and have the same thing happen.

 

[dbltree]

If you decide to seed more, run the cultipacker over the EW during the heat of the day...you won't hurt it then versus morning or night.

The dry soils make it tough to get seed germinated this year

 

[dbltree]

June 21st, 2012

Every spring it seems like it's something...to wet, to dry and this spring extremely dry soils have been the norm which meant sporadic and uneven germination in almost every crop planted in may around here. I planted Egyptian Wheat the end of May but what little rain we got was not enough to get it to come up well but after nearly 3 weeks of bone dry weather we were blessed with anywhere from 3-4" of rain and the EW is staring to come up again!

In these pics you can see all sizes of plants, those that had enough moisture to germinate...

and those that laid in dry soil until they received enough rain to get them to come up

When seeds get enough to germinate but then not enough to grow, they often die but if they remain in dry soils until getting rain they can often last for weeks

EW is very drought tolerant once it's up but it's got to have enough soil moisture to spur germination. I'm monitoring ours and if we don't get sufficient germination after having received plenty of rainfall...I'll re-plant...

 

[Hardwood11]

EW

I planted EW a week ago, since then we have had at least 4 inches of rain here in MN with some downpours...

Not sure if the wet conditions are good or bad? The EW is popping up, but can I expect good results by September if we get hot weather

 

[Nontypcl1]

I just replanted a number of my EW screens last night that had spotty germination. I originally planted the last week of May. What was planted on low ground looked great but the rest was subpar. Thankfully I got finished drilling the north 1/2 of the farm just prior to a 1" rain. Hopefully there will be sufficient moisture left tomorrow when I replant the screens along the south 1/2.

 

[dbltree]

The EW is popping up, but can I expect good results by September if we get hot weather

You bet! :way:

 

[dbltree]

June 28th, 2012

Once Egyptian Wheat seed germinates...it takes off like a rocket1

Assuming of course it has plenty of nitrogen and sufficient moisture..although it can get by with very little rainfall on soils with 3-4% organic matter. All EW that I plant is for screens, in this case screening soybeans (no-tilled into killed wheat) on left from the road on right

Some folks have planted switchgrass thinking it would screen the field but even the tallest switchgrass is no match for a jacked up pickup cruising down a back road...EW however can completely block the view.

It is more then just blocking the view of would be poachers however...we want mature bucks to feel safe and comfortable in our feeding areas in daylight hours. It's not enough that "deer" are out there during the day...I'm not after does and immature bucks...I want mature whitetail bucks to feel safe and if you can see them...they can see you and that will only encourage more nocturnal activity.

In this case there is a screen along the road, then a field where we are establishing switchgrass, then another screen and the feeding area itself. Eventually the feeding area will be very insulated from any outside activity and the landowner will have higher odds of daylight movement here.

EW grows slower in low OM soils when we are rain deficient such as this year...another reason why I also establish conifer screens that will eventually make a permanent screen that lasts for lifetimes

I even plant across gateways using a 1/2 circle strip so that the field can not be viewed from a gateway

I always till in a minimum of 100#'s of 46-0-0 urea at planting but just for the sake of experimentation I no-tilled a second strip adjacent to the tilled strip. I did not however change the planting depth so germination was very poor because seeds were not placed into the moisture zone

The drill allowed me to plant pretty accurately in the 6-8# range but note where I overlapped one row how thick the EW is....too thick!! I have used up to 12#'s per acre when broadcasting into dry low OM soils where I expect poor germination but in most cases lower rates will achieve a taller more robust screen.

Some farms received too little rain and seeds germinated...then died, so after we received a 3-4" rain event I wen back and no-tilled more seed into the moist soils

No rain since and no rain in sight combined with blistering hot dry weather with gusty winds sucking the moisture out of soils does not bode well for a successful outcome but we will see. The 2 week forecast is for 95-100 temps and almost no chance of rain...that will not affect the growing EW but getting new seed to come up may be a different story.

both atrazine and simazine are pre-emergence residual type herbicides that need rainfall to push the herbicides into the soil where tiny weeds will take up the "poison" and be be killed....lacking rain the herbicides will be largely ineffective.

Weeds (foxtail) came up at first but the rain event pushed the atrazine into the root zone and ended that problem

These herbicides can be incorporated with tillage but getting it evenly incorporated can sometimes be challenging so I prefer to take my chances with the rain...rarely a problem in May and June but this year has been the exception

Some EW is still coming up...just like soybeans and late planted corn in our area...soil moisture is scarce and deep, far from seeds planted an inch deep allowing them to come up only when we get a good rain event. Many seeds however are lost...germinated then dying from lack of water leaving situations like this where the tire tracks overlapped and pushed seeds deeper.

In heaven...I know the weather will be perfect and every seed will grow into a beautiful crop but for now, I'm reminded of what the other place might be like....

 

[Sligh1]

In heaven...I know the weather will be perfect and every seed will grow into a beautiful crop but for now, I'm reminded of what the other place might be like....

......:way:.....

If there's guys out there that do still want to plant, I tell you what- I planted mine around mid-July last year & I promise you the EW was a minimum of 12' tall come hunting season.