What causes wheat to have spikes but no grains?
Wheat is a very important food crop in our country, and in many regions of our country the staple food is also mainly wheat. Therefore, there are still a great many people growing wheat today. When we grow wheat, many people find that wheat often shows the phenomenon of having spikes but no grains, seriously affecting wheat yield. So what are the reasons that cause wheat to have spikes but no grains? Today the editor will briefly introduce them to you. Let's take a look below!
1. Freeze damage at the booting stage
After wheat passes the jointing stage, its cold resistance gradually declines. Generally about 5 days after jointing, it will suffer freeze damage at around minus two degrees, and as time goes on, its cold resistance will continuously weaken. And in spring, in March to April, late spring cold spells are also likely to occur, so young seedlings that have already jointed are extremely prone to freeze damage. If the young wheat spikes suffer freeze damage, it will affect heading; some lose their appearance after heading or even cannot head at all. Moreover, some spikelets also do not develop to maturity, resulting in a seedless phenomenon, though this generally only appears on a single stem.
2. Unsuitable climate during the flowering stage
When wheat plants form grains, it is generally 10 days after wheat flowering and fertilization. At this time, the size and number of wheat spikes have generally already been determined before heading. The number of grains per spike and grain weight, however, are directly affected by environmental conditions. When wheat is flowering and pollinating, the temperature should be kept at around 20 degrees. If it is rainy and continuous, and the temperature is below 10 degrees, wheat flowering will be delayed. This leads to shriveled grains and diseases, etc. At the same time, if the temperature is above 35 degrees and the soil is dry, the seed-setting rate of wheat will be reduced. And if there is continuous rainfall, the wheat pollen grains will absorb water and swell, the pollen cannot fertilize and becomes aborted, resulting in the phenomenon of having spikes but no grains.
3. Human causes
Wheat having spikes but no grains is mostly caused by human factors. Many farmers are used to spraying pesticide at noon during the peak flowering stage of wheat, causing all the sprayed plants to have no grains. Or it may be caused by excessive pesticide spraying: when applying pesticide during the wheat flowering stage, if the dosage is not strictly followed, the pesticide solution concentration becomes too high, causing excessive local application, damaging wheat pollen, leading to pollen abortion and thus forming a seedless phenomenon. So everyone must pay attention to doing management work well, controlling the dosage and timing, and avoiding human factors causing wheat to have spikes but no grains.
4. Improper use of herbicides
Improper use of herbicides is also a main cause of wheat having spikes but no grains. When using herbicides in wheat fields, they should be used before wheat jointing, otherwise wheat is prone to herbicide damage. For example, when using herbicides such as MCPA, if used too late, wheat spikes are prone to deformity, and in severe cases cannot head. Furthermore, if dicamba is used too late, especially if used during the male and female differentiation of young wheat spikes, it will affect the development of florets, causing the differentiation of wheat stamens and pistils to be blocked, thus affecting the phenomenon of having spikes but no grains and causing severe wheat yield reduction.
The above is a brief introduction to what causes wheat to have spikes but no grains. That is all for today's introduction. This article is for reference only, and we hope it can help everyone!