Phenological crop calendar

Agriculture practices calendar

Planting of spring wheat should take place as soon as danger of killing freezes has passed. For winter wheat, planting should occur at least 6 weeks before low temperatures slow growth, so as to develop a substantial root system for the over-wintering period. Wheat is usually planted in rows 15 to 20 cm apart, with at least one plant per 5 to 10 cm of row. Drilling of seed about 3 to 5 cm deep places the seed in moist soil (or soil that will stay moist after a rain) for prompt germination. Generally, winter wheat agriculture is common in Turkey. In the places that receive 500-600 mm precipitation in a year is suitable for winter wheat. In fact, winter wheat yield is 100% more than the spring wheat in these kinds of places. Sowing date of winter wheat is between 25 September and 25 October in Mid-North, Mid-South, and Mid-East. In the coastal areas, winter wheat can be sown earlier than those dates. In fact, there are no distinct dates to discriminate winter or spring wheat in the coastal areas. Sowing dates can be extended from September to March in these kinds of areas. In Aegean an Mediterranean regions, sowing starts at the beginning of November, and ends at the end of this month. Consequently, the dates between 15 November and 15 December are the most suitable for sowing in the coastal areas.

Weed control, after sowing, is usually not required or practical but may be necessary on heavily infested land. Removal of weeds by pulling or tillage usually severely damages the wheat root system; solid planting of wheat on a weed-free seedbed is usually relied on to provide enough competition to reduce weed damage to the wheat crop. Weed removal on irrigated wheat is less serious than on rainfed crops, because wheat will regenerate damaged roots if moisture supply is adequate, particularly at early growth stages. Weed control by use of appropriate herbicides to combat the important weed species at hand becomes a useful treatment on heavily weed infested fields. In Turkey, 2-4-D herbicide is generally used for weed control. The wheat root system is not damaged when the herbicides are properly used.

Fertilizing:

In Turkey, as a general application for whole crops all amount of phosphorus fertilizer and part of nitrogen fertilizer is applied during seed bed preparation or seeding time. Rest of the nitrogen is applied later beginning of vegetative growth (shooting period).

Harvest:

The wheat crop usually ripens about 30 days after blooming of the florets. The kernels are completely filled when they reach the dough stage, at which time the leaves, stalks and spikes begin to lose green color and become golden yellow. From this stage onward, ripening consists of gradual loss of moisture content of the kernels. When completely air-dry, the kernels will average about 10 to 12% moisture, at which time they may be stored safely without molding. Combine harvesting is common throughout the country. Harvest may be done by hand with sickles in the mountainous areas.

Irrigation practices

Generally, winter wheat is not irrigated in the country. When the drought periods occur in the most critical phenological stages (after sowing or shooting in Turkey), wheat is irrigated. The regions where wheat is irrigated in drought periods are some parts of Mid-North and Aegean Regions of Turkey. When the climatic conditions is not suitable, wheat is also irrigated in some specific areas such as; Harran plain in Southeast and Çukurova plain in Mediterranean regions.

Pest and disease risk

The majority of important diseases that cause yield loss are fungal in Turkey. Other diseases come from bacteria, virus, and nematodes. When the climatic conditions are suitable, these diseases can be epidemic some years. The most common wheat disease is the rust (Puccinia striiformis, Puccinia glumarum, Puccinia graminis tritici, Puccinia recondita or Puccinia rubigovera) in Turkey. Other important diseases can be summarized as; smut (Ustilago tritici), Septoria spp., Erysiphe graminis tritici, Giberella spp., Fusarium spp., Helminthosporium spp., and wheat mosaic virus. The main wheat pests are Eurygaster integriceps, Aclia rostrata, Anisoplia spp. and some locusts species (Kün 1996).

Durum wheat diseases are mainly yellow rust, loose smut, common bunt, septoria, leaf rust, stem rust, barley yellow dwarf virus, root and foot diseases, and powdery mildew. The importance of these diseases changes from region to region. The first three are prevalent in colder zones while the rest is in mild coastal areas (Zencirci et al. 1998).

Crop rotation

Mainly, fallow + wheat crop rotation is applied in the arid and semi-arid areas in Mid-south, Mid-North, Mid-East, and North-East regions where annual rainfall is low. Also legume (chickpea, lentil, vetch) + wheat, sunflower + wheat, wheat + cotton, wheat + potatoes, wheat + sugar beet, rotations have been applied in the suitable regions.