@ThomasPicard I suggest we assemble here the pictures and comments about this population.
I could sow mine only on march 10, I had no parcel to sow it in before that date.
soil had just been plowed 20cm deep, then raked manually.
about 45 sq meters , about 1 kg seeds.
hand sowing on surface, with a few cm of hay cover
germination was quick, but I had the impression it was not dense enough (not enough seeds sowed or too much birds predation) because I guess only a portion of these varieties will behave correctly after such a late sowing.
but tillering (tallage?) was suprisingly quick
this is the status today (picture) there are only a couple of patches not occupied by the wheat.
the first ears are out.
I am glad I may have a sub-population of spring-sowing bread wheat … and since I did not sow all of what Thomas sent me, I will also try to have another sub-population of the same population, sowed in autumn. Two chances every year to get a harvest…
Meanwhile, mine has finished growing up, and I am surprised by the height . Higher than my shoulder for a big part of them, to such a point that I fear they might be lain by a gust or by any heavy rain to come before harvest. .
We have had a good sun-rain alternance for most of may and june, which could explain this growth. I also wonder if this may reveal an excess of nitrogen in the soil. Not that I put anything in, but the soil was plowed this year after decades of pasture and this might have triggered excess mineralization…
What do you think, wheat growers ?
And for those of you who grow this FURAT evolutionary population, what is the height of your own crop ?
l learned a few things when discussing this morning with our farmer neighbor about this very subjet of wheat straw height. I did not know that conventional farmer spray a growth inhibitor to limit the straw height development. I did suspect that the plowing operation might have triggered excess nitrogen mineralization , which leads to long straw. I could have understood that the scarcity of sowing / germination would lead to more food for each plant, therefore straw development. Not just tillage, but also height. And I sort of guessed that the last heavy rains, combined with some gusts was responsible for the few square meters lost laying on the ground.
So it seems that what I have is the result of my practice and my pedoclimatic conditions, but I would still be interested to know what height is your FURAT , for those who grow it.
Hi Isabelle and all, sown in October, mine is shorter. Sown on my very marginal soil (sandy, no clay, ph4,5 to 5.5) with no input, apart from a light soil labor (8-12cm). I have been surprised by the weediness… and the nearly no-tillering of this population, notably compared to another nearby it, coming from south west of France.
We have had one of the rainiest autumn-spring season ever, with nearly 1meter of rain from mid october (when I sown) to end of mid april. Then once again heavy rains from in may (252mm in may), then a still cold june with some rains (94mm as of today).
My main hypothesis is that this wheat, supposed to be very aggressive (tillering) has gone through conditions he never endured before, coming from center Italy, after years in Toscany and Sicily.
then maybe ph, and absence of input on this poor granitic soil. How is it in your place Isabelle?
I have sowed very late, therefore escaping most of the winter rains.
I had a scarce germination (or heavy bird predation), therefore each plant had plenty of space for tillering
My soil is quite balanced in mineral content, slightly acidic, draining
Plowed down to 20cm
Significant presence of thistle (chardon)
And what about tillering? Did you see much? I know late sowing goes against tillering, all the plant usually going to seed directly, but… let us know
tillering, was quick and powerfull as mentionned in my first description above. I was surprised, because like you I though late sowing did not allow time for tillering. I will take pictures and show you.
How much did you sow ? do you have some left for next year ? do you think you will be able to harvest something ? I hope I will have enough to share back …
I have a 3 kilo share left but it is collective, as instructed Salvatore, for example to see how it behaves compare to those that will have adapted to our places within 3-4 years time. So it is frozen now.
I think I should get back those few kilos from that field I would say. But I may be a bit too optimistic… boars all around and even in these fields these days!!!
Ok let’s wait and see how much I harvest, how much you harvest and then decide if I will send you some back so that you can sow next year. I still have 3 kilos left of the original mix you sent me, because I did not want to risk more than one kilo on my late sowing…
I just harvested half of mine by hand. It was disappointing to see the birds and badgers got there first. My neighbor didn’t harvest it and I was on family trip , not there for three weeks.
I noticed the birds didn’t like the bearded hairy ones especially the red ones. Might pick their eyes. The proud beardy were hanging full of promise mostly. Some with a lot of grains were bent double. Like if the birds didn’t like to be close to the ground when they hang on the side to pick them up. Maybe afraid of rats or foxes …
I’d be lucky if I get a kilo in total.
So big, big failure. Next year better and less random. Lesson learned.
I harvested mine last week. By hand, too.
the grain was not fully dry but two factors made me decide to harvest:
a significant rain was announced on saturday (it did rain that day)
birds had started to have a serious go at it
so I picked my 50 square meters over 3 mornings, before the heat and because I had other things to do in the days
day one, bird predation was about 10%
day two (next day) predation 20%
day three (following day) 30%
not yet threshed, because I let it dry a little more to make hand threshing easier
I may have about 10 kg of grain, will confirm after threshing and winnowing.
