These practical techniques help late-sown wheat achieve high yields

Because late-sown wheat (wheat sown after mid-October, generally called late-sown wheat) is sown late, it is difficult to achieve full, strong and uniform seedlings, and thus difficult to obtain high yields. However, with proper management, a high yield is entirely possible.

1 Apply sufficient base fertilizer. Late-sown wheat needs 10-15 days from sowing to emergence, which shortens the pre-winter growth period and causes the seedlings to grow in the soil for too long and become weak. Late-sown wheat must be given sufficient base fertilizer, with 3500 kg of high-quality farmyard manure, 40-45 kg of ammonium sulfate, 50 kg of superphosphate and 10 kg of potash fertilizer per mu.

2 Apply winter fertilizer. To help late-sown wheat overwinter and prevent freeze damage, evenly apply 2000-3000 kg of high-quality pigsty manure plus 10-15 kg of urea per mu into the wheat rows.

3 Careful management at the greening stage. According to the physiological characteristics of late-sown wheat, at the greening stage the soil should be hoed and loosened in time according to soil moisture to raise soil temperature and promote early seedling growth. Do not apply fertilizer or water at the greening stage, so as to ensure that soil temperature rises, promote root growth and tillering, and cultivate strong seedlings. For fields with poor soil fertility, insufficient population or poor soil moisture, trenches can be opened or holes dug at the greening stage, and hole fertilizer or chemical fertilizer solution can be applied to promote wheat growth and alleviate drought.

4 Apply heavy fertilizer and water at the stem-elongation stage. At the stem-elongation stage, wheat is sensitive to fertilizer and water, and this is the key period for managing late-sown wheat. Sufficient fertilizer and water help tillers form ears and increase the number of grains per ear. At this time, heavy fertilizer should be applied; generally, 20-30 kg of standard nitrogen fertilizer per mu can be applied together with irrigation. In plots where phosphate fertilizer was insufficient as base fertilizer, 20 kg of phosphate fertilizer per mu can be applied in furrows.

5 Apply adequate fertilizer at the jointing and booting stages. Apply 20 kg of urea and 5-10 kg of monopotassium phosphate per mu; other trace fertilizers can be supplemented by foliar application together with the control of aphids, powdery mildew and the like. For late-sown wheat fields with good soil fertility, sufficient base fertilizer and a relatively large population, topdressing and watering should be postponed until the jointing stage.

6 Management of single-stem cultivation. For wheat fields using the single-stem cultivation method, fertilizer and water should be strictly controlled at the greening and stem-elongation stages according to its technical requirements, and heavy topdressing and watering should be carried out only from jointing until the flag leaf tip emerges.