Wheat grows in a variety of climates and soil. Suitable weather and proper soil are needed to produce a healthy wheat crop. Wheat farmers must use high-quality seed that is free from disease to produce high yields. Farmers also must plant and harvest the wheat at the correct time. They must protect the growing crop from damage caused by disease and pests.

Wheat likes to be grown in fairly dry and mild climates. Weather conditions influence when wheat is planted. Winter wheat is planted from September to November. It is planted a few inches deep in narrow channels called furrows. Snow fills the furrows and protects the plants from the cold. Spring wheat is planted from early March to mid-April. It has a shorter growing period than winter wheat.

The steps for growing wheat are much the same throughout the world. However, wheat farms are different in size and levels of mechanization (work done by machinery). In many non-industrial countries, wheat farmers use animals to pull their plow across their fields. They also may plant and harvest their crop by hand. In industrialized countries, nearly all the wheat is grown on large farms and is harvested with the help of tractors and specialized machinery.

Wheat farmers prepare their fields by plowing the soil. This breaks up the surface of the soil and allows moisture to soak into the ground where it is stored for the next crop. Plowing the field also buries weeds that have grown in the damp soils.

A tractor-drawn machine called a drill is used to plant wheat seed. Long narrow channels (furrows) are dug by the drill. At the same time, it drops seeds into the furrows and covers them with soil. Fertilizer can also be dropped into the furrow along with the seed.

While the wheat is growing, farmers must protect it from diseases, insect pests, and weeds. Rust is the most destructive wheat disease. Rust is a fungus that grows on the wheat plant and produces small, rust-colored spots on the leaves and stems. Insects damage about ten percent of the United States wheat crop every year. Grasshoppers and locusts are two of the more than one hundred insects that attack wheat plants. Weeds rob the wheat plants of the moisture and nourishment they need.

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Uses of Wheat