Checking Stands and Replanting Decisions

The wheat that was seeded between April 21st and the 26th in parts of NW Minnesota endured two major rain events immediately following seeding that resulted in ponding in some fields.  The first phase of germination is the uptake of water. Unfortunately, even temporary ponding is too much of a good thing and will generally result in the seed rotting rather than sprouting.  Consequently, emergence will be patchy, and the initial stand will be below par in areas of the field that were waterlogged for more than a day.

Use the following guidelines to determine whether replanting is worthwhile:

1. If the reduced stand is uniform (no big skips or holes), keep stands of 15 to 17 plants per square foot.  The crop still has ample time to tiller and compensate for less than ideal stands, especially if the weather stays cool.
2. If skips are large (3 to 6 ft.), or holes are 4 to 6 feet in diameter, consider replanting or filling in those areas of the field.  

To do a stand count, use one of the following two methods:  

1. Count the number of plants in a foot of row at several locations in the field. Take an average and convert to plants per acre using Table 1. 
2. Take a hula-hoop, let it fall, and count the number of plants inside the hoop. Repeat this at random several times across the field and calculate an average. Use Table 2 to convert the count to an approximate population per square foot or acre. 

Table 1 - Average number of plants per foot of row for different row spacing and plant densities per acre.

Table 2 - Adjustment factors to multiply the number of plants inside a hoop and convert the number to number of plants per acre