The wheat maturity stage across Tennessee varies quite a bit. Much of the variance is due to the wide range of planting dates last fall coupled with the cold winter which has really checked up growth particularly of later planted fields. Unfortunately, you really have to squint to see the wheat in some of these later planted fields.  A good bit of the Tennessee wheat crop falls into this category.  However, there were some more timely planted wheat fields last fall and this wheat looks good and is well on its way to getting to the first node.  This maturity stage of wheat is a major cut-off point for many herbicides used in wheat. Continue reading →