Harvesting wheat at the late dough stage gives both high quality and high yield

In recent years, researchers have studied the grain-filling rate of several @#@245@#@ varieties, and the 1000-grain weight reaches its maximum at the late dough stage of wheat. If harvesting begins 3 days after this, the 1000-grain weight decreases by an average of 0.3-9.4 grams per day, while if harvesting begins on the 4th-5th day, the 1000-grain weight decreases by an average of 1-1.2 grams per day. If calculated at 350,000-400,000 ears per mu and 35 grains per ear, for every 1 gram decrease in 1000-grain weight, the yield per mu drops by 13-15 kg.

Studies show that harvesting wheat at the late dough stage is most suitable, because during the milk-ripening stage of wheat, the nutrients in the stems and leaves rapidly move into the grains, and after entering the dough stage this has already slowed down; by the late dough stage it has basically stopped. At this time the nutrients in the grains have accumulated to their peak, the quality is the best, and the yield is the highest. After the full-ripening stage, the roots, stems and leaves of wheat dry up one after another and can no longer manufacture nutrients, but the plant is still respiring and needs to consume nutrients, so the nutrients in the grains undergo hydrolysis and flow backward, thus causing the 1000-grain weight of wheat to decline, with thick grain skins and poor color, affecting yield and quality. Secondly, in the full-ripening stage, because the awns and grains loosen and the rachis is fragile, they will sway and rub against each other on windy days, and shedding of ears and grains is inevitable. If rainy weather occurs, the loss is even greater when harvesting is not done in time. Long-term practice has also proved that harvesting wheat at the full-ripening stage reduces yield by about 10% compared with harvesting at the late dough stage, and the starch and protein content decreases by about 5%. Hence the proverb about wheat: "Harvest at nine-tenths ripe and get a full crop; harvest at ten-tenths ripe and lose one-tenth."

To harvest wheat at the right time, the key is to scientifically grasp the appearance of wheat as it enters the late dough stage. Wheat maturity is divided into three stages: milk ripening, dough ripening and full ripening. The dough stage is further divided into the early dough stage, the middle dough stage and the late dough stage. In the early dough stage of wheat, if you pinch a grain with your fingernail, the grain breaks easily and a substance like solidified wax flows out; if you cut the grain with a small knife, although it can be cut through, it will deform. At this stage the moisture content of the wheat grain is about 30%. When wheat reaches the middle dough stage, the grains are plump and moist; if you pinch the wheat flour with your fingernail, a mark can be made; if you cut the grain with a small knife, it breaks easily but does not deform. At this stage the moisture content of the wheat grain is about 25%. When wheat reaches the late dough stage, the grains are light yellow and waxy; at this time, except for the top two nodes of the plant which are still yellow-green, the leaves, internodes and ears have all turned yellow, and the moisture content of the grains is about 20%. After wheat reaches the full-ripening stage, the grains become hard and the moisture content drops below 16%.

When checking the grains, select a representative ear from this field, then take the middle grains of this ear for testing, because the wheat on the same ear does not mature at the same time, but gradually matures from top to bottom.

"Summer planting must be rushed, and wheat harvesting must race against the weather." When harvesting wheat, you should also reasonably arrange the best harvest time for wheat according to the weather, the condition of the harvester, labor and other specific conditions, and harvest scientifically, so as to achieve both high yield and a good harvest.