Wheat is important a cereal grain next to rice and important staple food of India. It is rich source of protein, vitamin and fiber. In India, it is mainly grown in Rabi (winter) season. Its three species, namely T. aestivum, T. durum and T. dicoccum are cultivated in the country. India is the fourth largest producer of wheat in the world and accounts for 8.7 per cent of the world’s total production. In India, Uttar Pradesh is major wheat producing state with largest area under its cultivation. It is major contributor in national production. Along with UP, Haryana and Punjab are major wheat growing states.

Maharashtra contribute near about 3.2% in total production. Ahmadnagar, Nashik, Pune, Kolhapur etc are major wheat growing districts of Maharashtra.   
 

It is grown in variety of soils of India. Soils with a clay loam or loam texture, good structure and moderate water holding capacity are ideal for wheat cultivation. Very poros and soil having less water holding capacity are not suitable for wheat cultivation. Under dry condition, heavy soil with good drainage are suitable for cultivation. Heavy soils with poor structure and poor drainage are not suitable as wheat is sensitive to water logging.

HD 2380: Suitable for timely sown irrigated areas. Ready to harvest in 105 to 110days. Gives average yield of 12-14qtl/acre.

MACS 2496: Suitable for timely sown irrigated areas. Ready to harvest in 105 to 110days. Gives average yield of 12-14qtl/acre.

HD 2189: Suitable for timely sown irrigated areas. Ready to harvest in 110 to 115days. Gives average yield of 12-14qtl/acre.

AKW 381: Suitable for timely sown as well as late sown irrigated areas. Ready to harvest in 110 to 115days. Gives average yield of 12-14qtl/acre.

MACS 2846: Suitable for timely sown irrigated areas. Ready to harvest in 110 to 115days. Gives average yield of 12-14qtl/acre.

AKW 3722: Suitable for timely sown irrigated areas. Ready to harvest in 105 to 115days. Gives average yield of 12-14qtl/acre.

HI 999: Suitable for late sown irrigated areas. Ready to harvest in 100 to 105days. Gives average yield of 10-12qtl/acre.

HD 2501: Suitable for late sown irrigated areas. Ready to harvest in 105 to 110days. Gives average yield of 10-12qtl/acre.

NIAW 34: Suitable for late sown irrigated areas. Ready to harvest in 100 to 105days. Gives average yield of 10-12qtl/acre.

AKW 1071: Suitable for timely as well as late sown irrigated areas. Ready to harvest in 100 to 105days. Gives average yield of 10-12qtl/acre.

N 59: Suitable for rainfed areas. Ready to harvest in 115-120days. Gives average yield of 3.2 to 4 qtl/acre.

MACS 1967: Suitable for rainfed areas. Ready to harvest in 105-110days. Gives average yield of 3.2 to 4 qtl/acre.

NI 4539: Suitable for rainfed areas. Ready to harvest in 105-110days. Gives average yield of 4 to 4.8 qtl/acre.

AKDW 2997-16: Suitable for rainfed areas. Ready to harvest in 115-120days. Gives average yield of 4.8 to 5.6 qtl/acre.

Other varieties: RAJ 1555, DWR 39, DWR 162, Chandoshi, Diwani 1, Diwani 7, Mahico 7070, Western 11, Purna, HD 2501.

Other state varieties:

WH 416: Suitable for early and timely sowing. Suitable for low fertile but irrigated lands. Grains are long, medium in size with amber colour. Resistant to brown rust but susceptible to yellow rust. Gives average yield of 22qtl/acre.

WH 283: Suitable for timely sowing areas. Grains are medium, hard and having shiny amber colour. Resistant to brown and yellow rust. Gives average yield of 20qtl/acre. 

WH 147: Suitable for timely sowing, low fertile and irrigated lands. Grains are medium, soft and having shiny amber colour. Resistant to brown rust and kernel blunt disease. Gives average yield of 20qtl/acre.

WH 157: Suitable for timely sowing, fertile and irrigated lands. Grains are bigger, hard and having colour. Gives average yield of 19qtl/acre.

Kalyansona: A double dwarf wheat with wide adaptation recommended for cultivation all over India. This variety is very vulnerable to rust. It is, therefore, advisable to grow it only in rust free regions.

UP-(368): High yielding variety developed by Pantnagar. It is resistant to rust and Karnal bunt.

WL-(711): It is single dwarf, high yielding and medium maturing variety. It is moderately susceptible to powdery mildew and Karnal bunt.

UP-(319): It is triple dwarf wheat with high level of rust resistance. To avoid losses to shattering, it should be harvested at appropriate time.

It requires a well pulverized but compact seed-bed for good and uniform germination. After harvest of previous crop, the field should be ploughed with disc or mould board plough. Take one deep ploughing followed by two or three harrowing with disc harrow and 2-3 planking should be given to prepare a well pulverized seed bed.

It is difficult for black cotton soil to bring to fine tilth. Use of rotavator or disk harrow is helpful in such case.

For good germination, apply pre-sowing irrigation 7-10days before sowing. Carried out ploughing in evening time and kept furrow open whole night to absorb some moisture from dew. Planking should be done after each ploughing early in the morning. In rain-fed areas, to protect crop from termite attacked, treat seeds with Chlorpyriphos 20EC@700ml per 100 kg of seed by mixing in 5 litres of water. After then dry seeds in shade.
 

Time of sowing
For rainfed areas, Middle of October is optimum time for wheat sowing. For timely sown Irrigated areas, complete sowing in first forthnight of November month. In case of late sown irrigated areas, complete sowing from 15th of November to 15th of December. 

Spacing
For timely sown irrigated areas and rainfed areas, use row to row spacing of 22.5cm. For late sown irrigated areas, use spacing of 18cm.

Sowing Depth
Sow seeds in North-South direction. For tall varieties use sowing depth of 6-7cm where as for other varieties use sowing depth of 5-6cm.

Method of sowing:
sowing can be done manually by
•    1.Seed drill
•    2.Broadcasting method
 

Seed Rate
For rainfed areas, use seed rate of 30-40kg/acre. For timely sown irrigated areas, seed rate of 40-50kg/acre.
For late sown irrigated areas, 50-60kg per acre.

Seed treatment
To protect seeds from Termite, false smut, loose smut treat seeds with Chlorpyriphos@4ml/kg of seeds or Tebuconazole 2 DS@1.5-1.87gm/kg seed or with Carbendazim or Thiram@2gm/kg of seeds 24 hours before sowing. After chemical treatment treat seed with Trichoderma viride 1.15 % WP@4gm/kg of seeds.
 

Nutrient Requirement (kg/acre)

Fertilizer Requirement (kg/acre)

For accurate fertilizer dose alwase apply fertilizer on the basis of soil test result.

For Rainfed areas, apply Nitrogen@16kg (Urea@35kg), Phosphorus@8kg (SSP@50kg) and Potash@8kg (MOP@15kg) per acre. Drilled all fertilizer at time of seed sowing.

For timely sown irrigated areas, apply Nitrogen@48kg (Urea@105kg), Phosphorus@24kg (SSP@150kg) and Potash@16kg/acre (MoP@30kg). Apply half of Nitrogen dose and full dose of Phosphorus and Potash at time of seed sowing. And remaining dose of Nitrogen, three weeks after seed sowing.

For late sown irrigated areas, apply Nitrogen@32kg (Urea@70kg), Phosphorus@16kg (SSP@100kg) and Potash@16kg (MoP@30kg) per acre. Apply half of Nitrogen dose and full dose of Phosphorus and Potash at time of seed sowing. And remaining dose of Nitrogen, three weeks after seed sowing.
 

The number of irrigations required will very depending upon soil type, water availability etc. Crown root initiation and heading stages are the most critical to moisture stress. For dwarf high yielding varieties, give pre sowing irrigation. Four to six irrigations are enough for wheat crop. First irrigation should be given 20-25days after sowing. This is crown root initiation stage and moisture stress at this stage will lead to yield loss. In cooler regions like hilly tracts and in late sown wheat ,it is desirable to apply 1s irrigation approximately 25-30 DAS. At tillering stage within 40-45days after sowing, apply second irrigation. Third irrigation within 70-75DAS at late jointing stage. At flowering stage (within 90-95days) give fourth irrigation. Fifth irrigation at dough stage (within 110-115DAS).

Under limited water supply apply irrigation only at critical stage. When water is available for only one irrigation then apply at crown root initiation stage. When two irrigations are available then apply at crown root initiation and flowering stage. Where three  irrigations  are  a possible, 1st irrigation should be given at CRI stage and 2nd at late jointing (boot) and 3rd at milking stage. CRI stage is most important stage for irrigation. It has been found that each week delay in 1st irrigation from CRI stage results in yield reduction of 80-120kg per acre. 
 

Cultural and Preventive: Cultural practices such as time and method of sowing, crop density and geometry, crop varieties, dose, method and time of fertilizer application, time and method of irrigation have pronounced effect on crop-weed interference. Use clean wheat seed that is free from weed seeds. Pull out weeds before seed setting. Keep irrigation channels free from weeds.

Chemical weed control: Preferred because of less labour requirement and no mechanical damage during manual weeding. As pre-emergence, apply Pendimethalin(Stomp 30EC)@1320ml/acre at 0-3 days after sowing in 200liters of water/acre.

Broad leaf weeds control: Apply 2-4,D@ 0.2-0.4Kg/acre, 25-30 days after sowing. after the crop has received its first irrigation at CRI stage. Fluroxypur@0.08-0.24kg/acre is a good alternative to 2,4-D for controlling broad leaf weeds.

Spray the herbicides, both pre and post emergence, when there is sufficient moisture in the soil. Spray on clear and sunny days.
If mixed weeds is a problem, at 30-35 days, spray 160gm Clodinafop-propargyl+metsulfuron-methyl ready mix +500ml surfactant/200Ltr water/acre.
 

• Pest and their control:
  

Aphids: These are nearly transparent, soft-bodied sucking insects. When present in sufficient numbers, aphids can cause yellowing and premature death of leaves. Infestation usually occurs during second fortnight of January till crop harvesting.

For management of Aphid, use chrysoperla predators 5-8 thousand/acre or use 50 ml/Ltr neem concentrate. In cloudy weather infestation of aphid is occurred. Spray with Thiamethoxam@80gm or Imidacloprid 40-60 ml/ acre in 100 Ltr of water.

Termite: Termites attack the crop at various growth stages, from seedlings to maturity. The severely damaged plants can be easily uprooted and look wilted and dried. In case roots are partially damaged, the plants show yellowing. To control broadcast 1 Ltr of Chlorpyriphos 20 EC mix with 20 kg sand/acre then applies a light irrigation.

• Diseases and their control:
  

Flag smut: It is seed borne disease. Infection spread through wind. It is favoured by cool, humid conditions during flowering period of the host plant. Treat the seed with fungicides like carboxyl (Vitavax 75 WP @ 2.5 gm/kg of seeds), Carbendazim(Bavistin 50 WP)@2.5 gm/kg seed), Tebuconazole(Raxil 2 DS)@1.25 gm/kg of seed) if the disease level in the seed lot is high. If it is low to moderate, treat the seed with a combination of Trichoderma viride@4 gm/kg seed and half the recommended dose of Carboxin(Vitavax 75 WP)@1.25 gm/kg seed.

 

Powdery mildew: Greyish white powdery growth appears on the leaf, sheath, stem and floral parts. Powdery growth later become black lesion and cause drying of leaves and other parts. When incidence of disease is observed, spray with wettable sulphur@2 gm/ Ltr of water or Carbendazim @400gm/acre. In case of high incidence, spray with Propiconazole@2 ml/ Ltr of water.
 

Brown rust: It is favoured by warm temperatures (15-30° C) and humid conditions. Brown rust is characterized by reddish- brown spores that occur in oval or elongated pustules. The disease can develop rapidly when free moisture is available and temperatures are near 20° C. Successive generations of urediospores can be produced every 10-14 days if conditions are favourable.

For control of this disease, follow mixed cropping with suitable crops. Avoid excessive use of Nitrogen fertilizer. Spray Zineb Z-78@400 gm/acre or Propiconazole@2ml/Litre of water.

Stripe/Yellow rust: The ideal growth conditions for yellow rust are temperatures of between 8-13° C for spore germination and penetration, and 12-15° C for further development and with free water. The yield penalties from yellow rust in wheat can range from 5% to as high as 30% in high disease pressure scenarios. The pustules of stripe rust, which, contain yellow to orange-yellow urediospores, usually form narrow stripes on the leaves.

For control of this disease, use rust resistant variety. Follow crop rotation and adopt mix cropping pattern. Avoid excess use of Nitrogen. When symptom observed, do dusting of Sulphur @5-10 kg/acre or take spray of Mancozeb @ 2 gm/Ltr or spray the crop with Propiconazole (Tilt) 25 EC @2 ml / litre of water.

Karnal bunt: It is seed and soil borne disease. Infection occurs at flowering stage. Cloudy weather condition during spike emergence to grain filling stage of crop leads to development of disease. If the rains occur during the month of February in north Indian plains (disease-prone areas), the disease is likely to come with higher severity.

For control of this disease use karnal bunt resistant varieties. For management of this disease, take one spray of Propiconazole (Tilt 25 EC) @2ml/ Ltr of water at ear head emergence stage.
 

Harvesting of high yielding dwarf variety is carried out when leaves and stem turn yellow and become fairly dry. To avoid loss in yield crop should be harvested before it is dead ripe. Timely harvesting is needed for optimum quality and consumer acceptance. The right stage for harvesting is when moisture in grain reaches to 25-30%. For manual harvesting use serrate edge sickles. Combines harvester are also available which can do harvesting, threshing and winnowing of wheat crop in single operation.

After manual harvesting, dried crops for three to four days on threshing floor so that moisture content of grain comes down to 10-12 percent and then threshing is done by trampling bullocks or thresher attached to bullocks. Direct sun drying and excessive drying should be avoided and the grains should be packed in sound clean gunny bags to minimize the losses.