Detailed Explanation of Key Wheat Planting and Management Techniques

The key points of spring management for winter wheat are aimed at forming more spikes, forming large spikes, and preventing lodging. At each stage of wheat greening, standing up, jointing, and flag leaf emergence, the application of fertilizer and water should be determined according to the soil fertility level and the growth condition of the wheat seedlings. The key points of spring management techniques for wheat are introduced as follows:

1. Greening stage

Greening fertilizer and water should be applied according to the seedling condition. In fields with sufficient basal fertilizer, where fertilizer and water have already been applied in winter, or where the soil fertility level is relatively high, greening-stage fertilizer and water may be omitted. In dryland wheat fields or late-sown wheat fields, where wheat seedlings grow weakly, greening-stage fertilizer and water play an important role in promoting tillering and increasing the spike-forming rate. After greening, 15-25 kg of urea or 50-70 kg of ammonium bicarbonate can be applied as a topdressing. In wheat fields with poorer soil fertility, nitrogen fertilizer should not be applied too much. If basal phosphorus and potassium fertilizers are insufficient, phosphorus and potassium fertilizers should also be applied as topdressing.

2. Standing-up stage

Applying fertilizer and water at the standing-up stage can consolidate pre-winter tillers, promote spring tillers, and increase the spike-forming rate of tillers. It is especially most effective for strong seedlings with a relatively small population. Urea can be applied at 10-15 kg per mu. For fields that did not receive fertilizer in winter and have a moderate population size, fertilizer and water at this stage also have a good effect. For fields that were controlled by deep intertillage at the greening stage and have an excessively large population, little or no fertilizer should be applied at this stage.

3. Jointing stage

In wheat fields where the amount of topdressing at the greening stage was insufficient, apply another 10 kg of urea per mu at the mid-jointing stage. If wheat shows symptoms of trace element deficiency, targeted spraying of microfertilizers such as zinc, manganese, and molybdenum at this stage can effectively increase the seed-setting rate, promote full grains, and increase yield. For strong-gluten wheat, apply nitrogen fertilizer once at the flowering stage, at 4-5 kg of urea per mu.