CULTIVATION.   The wheat crop requires a well-pulverized but compact seedbed for good and uniform germination. Three or four ploughings in the summer, repeated harrowing in the rainy season, followed by three or four cultivations and planking immediately before sowing produce a good, firm seedbed for the dry crops on alluvial soils. Timely cultivation and conservation of moisture are essential. In the black cotton soil, blade harrow (bakhar) is used instead of the plough. One to three ploughings with an iron plough may sometimes precede the use of bakhar. For the irrigated crop, the land is given a pre-sowing irrigation (palewa or raund) and the number of ploughings is reduced. Where white-ants or other pests are a problem, Aldrin 5% or BHC 10% dust at the rate of 25 kg/ha should be applied to the soil after the last ploughing or before planking.

SOWING TIME.   Under irrigated conditions, the first fortnight of November is considered to be the optimum time for sowing the medium long-duration wheats, e.g. 'kalyansona' all over India. For short-duration varieties, e.g. 'Sonalika', the second fortnight of November is the optimum time. In eastern India, the sowing of wheat is often delayed owing to the late harvesting of paddy. The sowings in such cases may go up to even the third week of December. In north- western India also, wheat sowings get delayed due to late harvesting of paddy or sugarcane or potato. However, wheat sowings beyond the rain fed conditions, the second half of October is the optimum time. The sowing of wheat, when the temperatures are high results in a poor stand, poor tillering, attack by root-infecting fungi and pests and the early onset of flowering. All these factors depress yield. The success of rained wheat depends on the amount of conserved moisture in the soil.

SOWING.   Seed is sown by drilling or broadcasting. Sowing with seed drills, whether tractor drawn or bullock-drawn, will deposit the seed at uniform depth, give a uniform stand and lead to the early emergence of vigorous seedlings. In many places seed is sown by hand in furrows behind the plough, drawn by bullocks by the kera method. For irrigated timely sown wheat a row spacing of 15 to 22.5 cm is followed, but 22.5 cm between the rows is considered optimum spacing. Under irrigated late sown conditions, a row spacing of 15 to 18 cm is the optimum. For dwarf wheats the planting depth should be between 5 and 6cm. the Planting beyond this depth results in poor stand. In the case of conventional tall varieties, the depth of sowing may be 8 or 9 cm. Under rainfed conditions after sowing, the furrows are left open, whereas in the case of irrigated wheat, the furrows are covered with a wooden plank (sohaga). Generally, deeper sowing is practiced in rough, dry and light soils, whereas comparatively shallow sowing is done in moist soils. The transplanting of wheat seedlings can be done when sowings are delayed.

The seed used for sowing should have a good germination capacity and it should be healthy and free from seed borne diseases and seeds of weeds. It is advisable to sow certified seed, obtained from a good seed agency. For bold seeded and shy tillering varieties, e.g. ' Sonalika ', a seed rate of 100-125 kg per hectare is the optimum, whereas for the varieties with the medium sized grains, such as 'Kalyansona', 75-100 kg of seed per hectare. For late sown wheat, the seed rate is generally kept high at 125 kg per hectare to compensate for the lack of tillering. Under rain-fed conditions, a seed-rate of 100 kg/ha is recommended. The seed of loose smut-susceptible varieties should be given solar or hot water treatment. If the wheat seed is used only for sowing, and not for human consumption or for cattle feeding it can be treated with Vitavax.

In Rajasthan, Haryana, Delhi and western Uttar Pradesh, ear cockle and tundudiseases are common. In these areas, the galls should be removed by floating them in water and the seed freed from them should be sown after drying. The molyadisease caused by Heterodera avenae is an important nematode disease in Rajasthan and in parts of Haryana. Summer cultivation, rotation with non-cereal crops and the treatment of the soil with DBCP 60% EC at the rate of 30 l/ha in irrigation water minimises losses owing to this disease.

IRRIGATION.   For wheat sown under irrigated conditions, 4-6 irrigations are required. The 1st irrigation should be given at the crown-root initiation stage about 20-25 days after sowing. Other irrigation should be given at late tillering, late jointing, flowering, milk and dough stages. Two or three extra irrigations are given where the soils are very light or sandy.

Under limited water supply, (a) if water is available for only one irrigation, it should be applied at the crown root initiation to tillering stage, (b) if water is available for two irrigations, the first irrigation should be applied between the crown root initiation and late tillering and the 2nd irrigation 7 or 8 weeks after the 1st irrigation ( flowering stage ), (c) if water is available for three irrigations, the 1st irrigation should be given at the crown root initiation stage and the 2nd and 3rd irrigations at intervals of 6 to 10 weeks. Thus the 3 irrigations should be given at crown root initiation, flowering and milk stages. Hoeing or interculturing a few days after the 1st and 2nd irrigations will break the crust and will also remove the weeds.

For controlling non-graminaceous broad-leaved weeds, a spray of 2, 4-d at 0.4 kg a.e./ha in 750 litres of water between 4 and 6 weeks after sowing is effective. Spraying before or after this specific period will be harmful to the wheat crop. If germinaceous weeds, e.g. Phalaris minor (foxtail weed)and wild oats are present, a pre-emergence application of tribunil at 1.5 kg a.e./ha in 750 litres of water controls them.

The rain fed wheat in the majority of cases is not fertilized by the farmers owing to economic reasons. It is desirable that 2 or 3 tonnes of farmyard manure per hectare or some other organic matter is applied 5 or 6 weeks before sowing. Forty kg of N and 20 kg of O5 per hectare gives a considerable boost to the wheat yield, if applied 10 cm deep (3-4 cm below the seed) at or before sowing. The fertilizer requirements of irrigated wheat crop are as follows :
(a) With assured fertilizer supply :
Nitrogen (N) @ 80-120 kg/ha
Phosphorus (P₂O₅) @40-60 kg/ha
Potash (K₂O) @ 40 kg/ha (this quantity may be adjusted according to soil test results).
(b) Under fertilizer constraints :
N @60-80 kg/ha
P₂O₂5 @30-40 kg/ha
K₂O @20-25 kg/ha (this quantity may be adjusted according to soil test results).

The total quantities of phosphorus and potash and half the qty of nitrogen should be placed 5cm below the seed at the time of sowing. The remaining qty of N should be applied at the time of 1st irrigation at the crown root initiation. Indian soils are not deficient in potash, but its application should be adjusted according to the soil test results. For the late sown irrigated wheat crop, the NPK fertilizer dose recommended is :
N - 60-80 kg/ha
P₂O₂5 - 30-40 kg/ha
K₂O - 20-25 kg/ha

In some soils, zinc is becoming deficient, resulting in poor yields. Zinc deficiency is particularly reported from Punjab, the tarai areas of U.P., some parts of Haryana, western U.P. and Delhi, if zinc deficiency is acute, a dose of 50 kg of zinc sulphate/ha is recommended. In moderately deficient soils, 25 kg of this chemical per hectare is sufficient. Where wheat is followed by green manure crop, the latter is given all the phosphorus which is subsequently to be used by the wheat crop. In a cropping system involving the rice wheat rotation, it is advocated that all the potash needed under this system should be given to the rice crop and all the phosphorus to the wheat crop and, nitrogen to both the crops. The shoot fly attacks the early or late sown wheat leading to dead or dried wheat heads. To avoid damage by shoot fly, wheat should be sown at the normal time, i.e. mid-November to mid-December. Armyworms, caterpillars, semiloopers and pyrilla which occasionally damage the wheat crop are usually controlled either by BHC 10% @ 25 kg/ha or by a spray of Carbaryl, Fenitrothion, etc.

HARVESTING AND YIELD.   The crop is harvested when the grains harden and the straw becomes dry and brittle. The harvesting time varies from zone to zone and also depends whether the crop is grown under rain-fed or irrigated conditions. The rain-fed crop reaches the harvest stage much earlier than the irrigated crop.

In the peninsular zone, harvesting starts in the latter half of February and most of it is over by the end of this month or in 'the beginning of March. In the central zone, the crop is ripe by the end of February, and the peak season for harvesting is March. In the eastern zone, the harvesting starts in the latter part of March and is generally over by mid-April. In the north-western zone, the latter half of April is the peak harvesting time. In the hills the crop is harvested in may-June. The same wheat variety behaves differently in respect of maturity in the different zones. For example, 'Kalyansona' is harvested in peninsular India by the end of February, or the beginning of March, whereas the same variety planted at almost the same time in the northern hills is harvested in may-June. The high temperatures shorten the growing period. If the crop does not ripen before the onset of the hot westerly winds, the shrivelling of grains takes place.

Most of the harvesting in India is done with the sickle. Only in recent years, the harvesting is done in some parts of Punjab, western U.P., Haryana, etc., with combines on custom service basis. The grain is generally threshed by treading with cattle on a threshing-floor. The use of a stone roller, saw threshers and tractors expedite the operation. Winnowing is done generally with the winnowing baskets. Simple mechanical threshers, e.g. the Ludhiana thresher and the Sherpur thresher are used by some farmers. Threshers are very common in Punjab.

The yields under rain-fed conditions are generally low. They may be as low as 3 to 4 quintals per hectare in peninsular or central India. Under irrigated conditions, the yield as high as 100 to 115 quintals per hectare were reported whereas in the national demonstrations, yield up to 80 quintals per hectare was recorded. There was a false notion that best wheat yields were obtained only in north-western India. Recent experience with high yielding varieties indicate that similar yields can be obtained in eastern, central and peninsular zones provided the farmers grow the correct variety, and add to it all the needed inputs and follow the correct production technology. The all India average for wheat yields varies from 12 to 13.8 quintals per hectare. The wheat straw is an important cattle feed in India. Generally the yield of straw from raw-fed or barani crops is about the same as the grain whereas from the irrigated crop it is one and a half to two times the grain yield. In the case of dwarf wheats, particularly triple dwarfs, the yield of straw is less than that from old varieties.