Wheat

“King of Cereals”
 INTRODUCTION
• World’s most important grain crop (Number one cereal in the world in
terms of area and production).

•  Mainly grown in temperate regions.

•  In India it is second important food crop next to rice.

•  IIWBR: Indian Institute of Wheat and Barley Research, Karnal, Haryana

•  CIMMYT:International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center, El

Batan.
• CIMMYT is the major wheat germplasm repository of
the world, while ICARDA (International Centre for
Agriculture Research in Dry Areas) is the major
repository of durumwheat germplasm

• As a contrast to rice, wheat is grown in all the

continents of the world.

• Major crop for success of Green Revolution-(Wheat

Revolution)
• Kharchia wheat: Native to sodic-saline soils of Karchia
Tehsil of the Pali district of Rajasthan in India. It is the
most tolerant wheat genotype found in India.

• Sharabati wheat: Type of wheat available in the

country. Most premium Grown in Malwa region of MP.
Atta or flour prepared from Sharabati wheat has a
superior texture and taste.

• First crop mentioned in the Bible

 Economic Importance of Wheat
• One of the most important use of wheat is to manufacture flour to prepare baked
foods (bread, pastry and biscuits etc.), (cellular spongy like structure due to the
presence of Gluten)

• Used for preparation of roti and chapati

• It is also used for the production of semolina for the macaroni industry and for
preparing breakfast foods.

• Varieties of Durum wheat having large white kernels are often used for puffing.

• Wheat straw makes an important fodder.

• By-products of wheat flour mills particularly bran are used as cattle feed.
• Among the industrial uses of wheat, the production of starch
for the paper industry is important

• Nutritionally, it is important source of energy (Carbohydrate

content 72%), besides being the only cereal with large protein
content (10-14%).

• It is the only cereal having high gluten-responsible for

stickiness and baking qualities.

• Gluten is a form of protein. It provides structural framework

for the familiar spongy and cellular texture for bread and other
baked products.
 Origin
• From the earliest times, it has played an important role in the
development of civilization.

• The origin is supposed to be South west Asian countries from where it

spread to European countries.

• Its cultivation was known in 17th century off Atlantic coast.

• The Aryans are supposed to have brought it to India.

• Several forms of wheat were cultivated as back as 10,000-15,000 BC in

N-E.
Wheat growing zones in India

1) Northern Hill Zone (NHZ)

2) North-Western Plain Zone (NWPZ)

3) North-Eastern Plain Zone (NEPZ)

4) Central Zone (CZ)

5) Peninsular Zone (PZ)

6) Southern Hill Zone (SHZ)

 Northern Hill Zone (NHZ)
• Foot-hills of Himalayas in Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh,
Uttarakhand, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh form this region.
• Nearly 4% of area and 3% of wheat production in India is contributed by
this zone.
• Crop durations are long, starting from October/November, they end in
May/June.
• On higher hills the crop is sown in May-June and harvested in October-
November.
• T. aestivum is grown in this zone.
 North-Western Plain Zone (NWPZ)

• This zone covers arid western plains and includes

Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, Rajasthan and Western Uttar
Pradesh and covers nearly 37% of area and contributes
about 45% of wheat production in the country.

• Wheat is sown in mid-November and harvested in

April/May.

• T. aestivum is grown in this zone.

 North-Eastern Plain Zone (NEPZ)

• This zone comprises eastern Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and West Bengal
and contributes about 24% total production of wheat from 27%
area.

• Crop season spans from November till March/April.

• Winters are relatively short in this zone.

• Sowing is often delayed due to higher moisture conditions in the

fields after rice.

• T. aestivum is grown in this zone.

 Central Zone (CZ)
• Parts of arid western India, Central India and Vindhyas
comprise this zone.

• This zone covers nearly 17% area and contributes 13%

to production.

• Crop is sown during October and harvested by March.

• Triticum durum is preferred in this zone.

 Peninsular Zone (PZ)

• The Deccan plateau, Western ghats and Karnataka plateau comprise

this zone.

• This zone has 6% area and contributes 2.5% to total production of

wheat.

• The crop is sown during later half of October and harvested by

March.

• T. aestivum, T. durum and T. diococcum are cultivated in this

zone.

• Thermo-insensitive varieties are most preferred.

 Southern Hill Zone (SHZ)

• The zone comprises hilly areas of Tamil Nadu and

Kerala.

• Though T. aestivum is the predominant species, T.

dicoccum is also grown in some areas.

• Wheat is grown twice a year in this zone, i.e., May to

September and October to April.

• Stem rust perpetuates in this zone.

 TAXONOMY & CLASSIFICATION
• Gene “A” from T. monococcum

• Gene “D” from T. tauschi

• Gene “B” from T. speltoides or T. longgissimum

• On the basis of genomic constitution, wheats grown in

• India belong to three classes :-

1) Diploid T. monococcum (AA)

2) Tetraploid T. Durum wheat (AABB)

3) Hexaploid bread wheat (AABBDD) (T. aestivum)

1) Einkorn wheat (Triticum monococcum):Diploid wheat (2n=14)

2) Emmer wheat (Triticum dicoccum):

• Tetraploid wheat (2n=28)

• Also called as Khapli wheat/khapal/samba.

• More heat tolerant than T. durum and T. aestivum.

• It also possesses a high degree of resistance to stem and leaf rusts.

• It is richer in protein (13%) and ß-carotene

• Used for making pasta, vermicelli, spagetti etc

3) Durum wheat (Triticum durum)
• Tetraploid wheat (2n=28)
• Hard wheat
• Also called as Macaroni wheat
• It is also good for making pasta, vermicelli, pagetti, chapati etc
• Fresh chapatis made with durum wheat emit an appetizing aroma, which makes
them costlier.
• Important varieties- HI 8498, HI 8381, HD 4172.

4) Bread wheat (Triticum aestivum/vulgare)

• Hexaploid (2n=42)
• Mexican dwarf wheat
• Soft wheat
• The most important species occupying about 85% of the total area under wheat.

5) Triticum spherococcum (2n=42)

• Indian dwarf wheat
 BREAD WHEAT TYPES
• Indian amber wheat (IAW):- Bold, plump, amber, translucent & lustrous grain with 11% protein. It has medium
strength dough.

Some important varieties- C 306, Sujata, HD 2189 etc.

• Indian sona wheat (ISW):- Grains are medium in size, plump, translucent with medium hard texture & protein
content of 10%. It has medium gluten strength.

Some important varieties- HD 2285, HD 2733, WH 147 etc.

• Indian pissi wheat (IPW):- Medium size, white, opaque grain contain 10% protein. Suitable for making biscuit,
cakes etc.

Some important varieties- Sonalika, Pissi Local, HB 208.

• Indian hard wheat (IHW):- Grains are medium bold, translucent & hard with protein content 12%. Most suitable
for making bakery bread

Some important varieties- DWR 162, HI 977, Raj 1482.

 THE PLANT
A) Root
• Primary or seminal root system: seminal roots arise from the embryo at the
time of seed germination and absorb nutrients for the young seedlings.

• Secondary root system: The permanent adventitious roots also called clonal
roots. Most of the roots are confined to the top 30 cm soil layer.

• In wheat, the transition zone between the root and the shoot is called the
crown.

• Roots emanating from the crown are known as crown roots and crown-root
initiation (CRI) is an important stage for irrigating wheat.
B) Shoot

• The wheat stem is erect, cylindrical and smooth.

• Comprises of nodes and internodes.

• Nodes are solid, but internodes are hollow in most of the wheat types and
varieties. But, in a few varieties of macaroni wheats the internodes are
completely filled with soft pith, which imparts resistance to insects and
lodging.
• The wheat stem generally has six nodes; the range being 5-7. The basal
internode is the shortest and subsequent internodes are progressively longer
• The color of stem is usually cream or golden yellow but some varieties have
purple stem.
C) Leaf
• Each leaf has sheath and a blade.

• At the junction of sheath and blade

there is a ligule and two auricles.

D) Inflorescence
• Wheat inflorescence is called spike or ear.
• It consist of a main axis or rachis around which 15-20
spikelets are arranged in a zigzag manner.
• The florets in each spikelet are enclosed by two
glumes viz., lemma and palea.
• The extension of lemma is called as awn.
E) Grain
• Wheat grain is a caryopsis.

• The tip of grain may have a tuft of hair called the brush.

• Wheat grain consist of a embryo, bran & endosperm.

 Growth stages of wheat
A) Vegetative phase
1) Germination: Germination generally takes about 5-7 days depending upon temperature.

2) Crown root initiation (CRI): It occurs about 20-25 DAS. Adequate moisture supply is
important at this stage and that is why first irrigation in dwarf wheat is recommended
between 21 and 25 DAS.

3) Tillering: Formation of side shoots. Tiller production in wheat often starts about 15 DAS
with a new tiller added every 4-5 days until 45 DAS. Though tillering is a varietal character,
it is also affected by environmental, edaphic and agronomic factors.

4) Jointing: This is the peak plant growth stage starting from 45 to 60 DAS. The upper and
the intermediate nodes expand during this period.
B) Reproductive phase
• The reproductive phase commences with differentiation of
the growing point in a spike. (Double ridge stage)

• It is characterized by the swelling of the uppermost

internode.

• The spike is held inside the last leaf which is called as flag
leaf.

• The maximum leaf area of plant is observed at this stage.

• This stage reaches 70-85 DAS.

 Varieties

• The introduction of semi-dwarfs in 1963 provided a spurt in wheat

production in India.

• Mexican dwarf varieties Sonora 64 and Lerma Rojo introduced in

1963 possessed higher yield levels, non lodging trait coupled with
greater response to fertilizer Nitrogen.

• Further genetic advancement in these varieties resulted in Indian

versions of dwarf and semi-dwarf genotypes named Kalyan Sona,
Sonalika etc.
• HD 3226 (Pusa Yashasvi): 57.5 q/ha

• HD 3271 (Pusa Wheat 3271): 36.6 q/ha, Suitable for very late sown conditions

• HI 1654 (Pusa Aditi): 51.8 q/ha, Tolerant to wheat blast and leaf rust; good
biscuit spread factor

• HI 1650 (Pusa Ojaswi): 57.2 q/ha, Highly resistance to leaf and stem rust, high
zinc content (42.7 ppm)

• HI 1634 (Pusa Ahilya): 51.6 q/ha, Good Chapatti quality and high grain
hardness index; Highly resistance to stem and leaf rust.

• Pusa gold: 37 q/ha, For late/extra late situations, resistant to leaf rust and
thermo resistant.
PRODUCTION TECHNOLOGY OF
PRODUCTION TECHNOLOGY OF WHEAT/
WHEAT / PACKAGE OF PRACTICES
PACKAGE OF PRACTICES OF WHEAT
FOR WHEAT PRODUCTION
 Climatic requirement
• Wheat is grown over a wide range of latitudes ranging between 60 °N and 60 °S
and altitudes ranging from the sea level to an elevation up to 3500 m in the
tropics and subtropics.

• The most ideal conditions for wheat growth are cool and moist weather during
the vegetative growth and warm and dry weather during grain formation.
Because of this reason the great wheat regions of the world are found in the
temperate zones between 30-60 °N and 25-40 °S. The optimum temperature for
the germination of wheat is 20-22⁰C.

• The optimum temperature for vegetative growth is 16-22 ⁰C.

• During the grain development wheat requires a mean temperature of
about 25 ⁰C for atleast 4-5 weeks. The temperatures above 25 ⁰C
reduce the test weight of grain due to hastened maturity.

• Wheat grows well in those areas where annual rainfall ranges

between 250 and 1800 mm. But heavy rains are detrimental.

• Rainfed wheat requires a minimum evenly distributed winter rainfall

of 15 to 20 cm.

• Low as well as high rainfall is detrimental to wheat.

• Short days increase the vegetative growth of the wheat plant

whereas longer days hasten the formation of inflorescence.
 Soil requirement
• Wheat is grown on a wide variety of soils.

• In India, it is principally grown in vast Gangetic alluvium belt and Indus

alluvium as well as sandy loam soils. But it is also grown in black soils of
Southern and Central India, Terrai regions of Himalaya and with irrigation on
desert soils of Rajasthan.

• Sandy loams are considered more suitable due to their ideal combination of
water holding capacity and drainage characters.

• The threshold salinity level for wheat is at electrical conductivity (EC) of 6

dS/m. Yield reduces by 50% at EC 14 dS/m.
 Land preparation
• After the harvest of kharif crops the field is irrigated and at workable moisture the
field is ploughed once or twice with disc or mould-board plough and this is followed
by 2-3 harrowing and planking.

• Pre-sowing irrigation for wheat may be applied in previous standing crop (long
duration crops like pigeonpea, cotton), so that field may be prepared immediately
after the harvest of previous crop.

• No-tillage system may be followed and wheat may be sown directly using zero-tillage
seed drills. Zero-tillage system permits growing of next crop despite the short turn-
around period available in intensive cropping systems such as rice-wheat or under
high soil-moisture conditions.
 Time of Sowing
• Time of sowing is one of the agronomic practices which affects the yield most
(Soft technology)

• Under irrigated timely sown condition, wheat sowing may be done in the first
fortnight of November- middle of November

• Under late-sown conditions, the wheat sowing may be done in the first FN of
December, if the sowing is delayed beyond 15 December, there is drastic
reduction in yield despite following the best production technology.

• Rainfed wheat is generally sown from the second FN of October to early

November to realize the maximum advantage from the residual soil moisture.
 Methods of Sowing Wheat
1) Broadcasting
• Primitive but widely prevailing method

• All the seeds broadcast do not get proper contact with moist soil and some seeds are left
uncovered and are eaten away by birds. This results in poor and uneven germination. So
overcome this problem 25% higher seed rate is recommended for broadcasting.

2) Zero or no-tillage sowing

• To overcome the problem of short turn around period between rice harvest and wheat sowing,
rotavator-cum-drills have been developed by the GBPUAT, Pantanagar and Directorate of Wheat
Research (DWR), Karnal. These machines permit direct sowing of wheat immediately after rice
harvest without primary tillage.
3) Behind the plough
• Seeds are dropped by hand into the furrows that have been opened with a country plough.

• When seed is dropped in furrows by hand it is called “kera” method and when seeds are dropped
through a pora/nai/hazara a special attachment with local plough it is called “pora” method.

4) Drilling:
• With the help of seed drill or fertilizer-cum-seed drill is the best method of sowing.

5) Dibbling:
• Used when quantity of seed is limited. Sowing is done with the help of a small implement known
as dibbler.
• 5) FIRB (Furrow-irrigated raised bed) system:

• Developed by Rice-Wheat Consortium of the CGIAR Institutes.

• In this method, wheat is sown on raised beds accomodating 2-3

rows of wheat. Between the beds are furrows that are used for
irrigation.

• This system permits adequate saving in irrigation water.

• The yields obtained are similar to or more than conventional

seeding.

• FIRB technology has potential to reduce the cost of cultivation and

also to minimize dependence on herbicide for weed control.
 Seed Rate
• 100-125 kg/ha- under normal conditions

• A variety of higher test weight and shy in tillering requires higher seed rate.

• Under late-sown conditions, seed rate should be increased by 25% i.e. 150 kg/ha.

• In FIRBS seed rate may be reduced to 75 kg/ha.

• When soil moisture is less at sowing time, seed rate should be increased by 25%.

• Sowing with plough and seed drill requires 125 and 100 kg seed/ha,
respectiverly, under normal conditions.

• For dibbling a seed rate of 25-30 kg/ha is sufficient.

 Seed treatment

• Biofertilizer- Azotobacter

• Vitavax @ 2.5 g/kg, Carbendazim @ 2.5 g/kg or

tebuconazole @ 1.25 g/kg of seed.
 Spacing and sowing depth
• Spacing varies with variety, time of sowing and irrigation.

• Irrigated wheat is spaced 22.5 cm between rows and 8- 10 cm between

plants.

• Rainfed wheat is spaced 25-30 cm between rows and 5-6 cm between

plants.

• When sowing is delayed, a closer spacing of 15-18 cm between rows is

recommended.

• Seeding depth should be around 5±2 cm.

 Nutrient Management
• FYM: 8-10 t/ha

• Tall varieties are not responsive to higher doses of fertilisers and are
prone to lodging lead to poor productivity.

• The general RDF for irrigated wheat- 150: 50: 25 kg N, P2O5, K2O/ha

• For rainfed wheat RDF is 80: 40: 20 kg N, P2O5, K2O/ha

• Copper deficiency causes “Stem melanosis”, limpness or wilting with

resultant loss in turgor.

• Nitrogen fixing bacteria Azotobacter can be used in wheat.

 Water Management
• Wheat requires about 300-400 cm of irrigation water

• About 90% of area under wheat in India is irrigated.

• In regions, where well water is available , the number of irrigations may vary from 4 to 6,
while in regions where the farmers depend only on canal water wheat may receive only one
or two irrigations.

• On sandy soils more irrigations are given.

• CRI and heading stages are the most critical to moisture stress.

• Four to six irrigations are enough for wheat crop.

• Number of irrigations based on the water availability

• An appropriate IW: CPE ratio for an irrigation in wheat ranges between 0.7 and 0.9
No. of irrigations available Critical stages

1 CRI

2 CRI + LJ

3 CRI + B + M

4 CRI + LT + L + M

5 CRI + LT + LJ + L + M

6 CRI + LT + LJ + L + M + D

CRI-Crown root initiation (21 DAS), LT- late tillering (42 DAS), LJ-
late jointing (60 DAS),
F-flowering (80 DAS), M-milk (95 DAS), D-
Dough (115 DAS)
 Irrigation Methods

• Border strip is the most common adopted method of irrigation

followed by check basin method.

• On sandy soils the check basin method may be preferred.

• Furrow irrigation has become possible in wheat with the

introduction of FIRB of wheat cultivation. It certainly increases
the WUE. In FIRB system, first irrigation may be applied
immediately after sowing for proper germination.
 Weed management
• The average yield loss in wheat caused by weeds is 25- 30%.

• The critical period of weed competition in wheat is 30-45 DAS.

• Grassy weeds: Phalaris minor (Little canary grass), Avena fatua and A. ludoviciana (Wild oat),
Cynodon dactylon, Poa annua

• Sedges: Cyperus rotundus (Purple nutsedge), C. esculentus (yellow nutsedge)

• Broad leaved weeds: Chenopodium album (Lamb’s quarters, bathua), C. murale, Rumex
retroflexus, R. dentatus (Golden dock, jangli palak), Anagallis arvensis (Pimpernel, Krishna neel),
Convolvulus arvensis (Field bind weed), Argemone mexicana (Satyanashi), Melilotus indica,
Fumaria parviflora, Carthamus oxycantha (Wildsafflower), Asphodelus tenuifolius (Wild onion),
Cirsium arvense (Canada thistle), Coronopus didymus (Swine cress).

• Objectionable weed: Convolvulus arvensis

Plant part Phalaris minor Avena fatua Wheat
Stem Solid, branched, Hollow, Hollow,
pink or purple in unbranched unbranched
colour at the base normally green dark green in
upto 50 days of in colour colour
growth
Leaves Smooth, pale green Slightly rough, Dark green
colour Green but no with serrated
serration margins, rough
Ligule Very large Large Very small
Auricles Absent Absent Two
• Manual/mechanical: Hand weeding at 20-25 DAS

• Chemical

 Pendimethalin @ 1000 g/ha PE

 Isoproturon @ 1000 g/ha at 25-30 DAS for control of P. minor

 2, 4-D @ 750 g/ha at 25-30 DAS (HD 2009, Sonak varieties are

• highly sensitive to 2,4-D and 2,4-D application develop

• malformed spikes resulting in reduced yield.

•  For grassy weeds: Sulfosulfuron (25 g/ha), Clodinofop (60 g/ha)

•  For BLWs: 2,4-D (750 g/ha), Metsulfuron-methyl (4-6 g/ha)

Management of herbicide resistant P. minor

1) Sulfosulfuron @ 20-40 g/ha or fenoxaprop-p_x0002_ethyl @ 100-120 g/ha POE

2) For control of Phalaris minor showing cross resistance to above herbicides a new herbicide, pinoxaden @ 40-50 g/ha PoE can be used

3) Herbicide rotation

4) Crop rotation

5) In zero tillage weeds like Phalaris minor & Cyanodon ductylon infestation reduce by 5-10 %
 Diseases
1) Rust

a) Brown/leaf rust: Puccinia recondita

b) Yellow/stripe rust: Puccinia striformis

c) Black/stem rust: Puccinia graminis tritici

2) Loose smut: Ustilago nuda tritici, production of black powder in place of wheat
grain

3) Karnal bunt: Neovossia indica. A portion of infected grain is converted into a

black powdery mass. The black powder gives a foul smell due to presence of
trimethylamine.
 Insect Pests

1) Termites: Infestation is heavy under unirrigated

conditions and in the fields where undecomposed FYM is
applied before sowing.

2) Cut worm

3) Rodents
 Harvesting & Threshing

• Yellow and dry straw is an important visual indicator for

readiness to harvest wheat crop.

• The most suitable stage for harvesting wheat is when

grains become hard and contain 20-25% moisture.

• Combines are used by big farmers to do harvesting,

threshing and winnowing wheat in a single operation
 Quality Parameters of Wheat

• Major quality traits are protein content, gluten content, bread

making properties (water absorption quality) and milling quality.

• The hardness is determined by the Pearling Index. A higher value

of Pearling Index indicates less kernel hardness.

• Milling quality, chapati making quality, bread-making quality and

biscuit-making quality are important from the industrial and
consumers point of view.
 Wheat-based cropping systems

• Rice-wheat: most widely practiced irrigated sysytem in

North Western and North Eastern plains.

• Maize-wheat

• Cotton-wheat

• Sugarcane + wheat
 POST HARVEST TECHNOLOGY
• Seed storage:- In Metallic drums, Polythene bags & Earthen pots. Critical
moisture content at which the rate of respiration increase is 14.6%. Seed
containing higher moisture respire faster, depleting seeds food reserve. Some
storage pests are rice weevil, grain moth, khapra beetle, Aspergillus, Penicillium.

• Milling :- Dried grains are first cracked or crushed gradually through aseries of
chilled iron break-rolls.These are then passed through reduction rolls, wherein
finer & whiter fraction are combined into patent flour. Bleaching is done by
removal of xanthophyll pigments. Benzoyl peroxide in small quantity has
bleaching effect. Flour yield from milling are appx. 70-74%.