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Wheat is
one of the most important food crops in the world.
It belongs to the grass family and looks a lot like
yard-grass when it is small. Wheat
is grown all over the world. About
20 billion bushels are grown during a year.
Canada, China, France, India, Russia, and the United States
grow the most wheat.
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There are two types of wheat: winter
wheat and spring wheat. Winter
wheat is planted in the fall and is harvested the next spring.
Spring wheat is planted in cold areas in the spring and
harvested that summer. There
are different kinds wheat. They
are:
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Common
wheat: This is called
bread wheat. It
usually has red, brown, white, purple or blue seeds [kernels].
This is grown on the prairies of the United States and
in Canada. |
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Club
wheat: The seeds
are white or red. This is mostly grown in the Pacific
Northwest area of the United States. |
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Durum
Wheat: The seeds
are white, red, brown, or purple.
This is used in pasta.
It is mostly grown in Minnesota, North and South
Dakota, and southern Canada. |
Wheat
grows best in a dry, mild climate.
Climates that are too hot or too cold will ruin the crop.
Farmers add fertilizer if their soil doesn’t have what the
wheat needs to grow well. If
a farmer grows wheat in the same field every year, the crops take
away nutrients from the soil. The
farmers put this back when they add fertilizer.
They test the dirt often to be sure the crop grows well. |
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Wheat
plant
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Wheat is grown from a seed [or kernel].
A tractor pulls a machine called a drill
that plants the seeds. It
digs long ditches where the seeds are planted.
Wheat grows into a green sprout that looks like yard grass.
Then it grows a head at the top of each plant.
This head has lots of seeds on it.
The plant turns from green to gold and then to beige in
color. It hardens and
dries. Then it is ready
to be harvested.
A machine, called a combine,
is driven through the fields where it cuts down the wheat.
The combine cleans and separates the seeds [kernels] from the
straw. Kernels are put
in a bag. Straw is
bundled. The straw is used for
bedding of horses, cows, and other animals.
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