Grazing Wheat to Different Morphological Stages for Effects on Grain Yield and Soil Compaction

Combining beef ( Bos taurus ) and grain production of soft winter wheat ( Triticum aestivum L.) is increasingly important to livestock production in the southeast USA, however, information on determination of optimum growth stage of the wheat for grazing termination is not known. This study was conducted on a Dothan loamy sand (fine‐loamy, siliceous, thermic Plinthis Paleudult) to determine the effects of grazing duration on grain yield of soft winter wheat. Treatments included an ungrazed control and grazing the wheat to three stages, jointing, second‐node, or flag leaf appearance (Feekes stages 6, 7, and 8, respectively). In the 1986–1987 growing season, grazing did not depress grain yield unless grazing continued after the flag leaf stage. In contrast, during the 1987–1988 season, reductions in grain yield occurred when grazing continued past jointing. Reduced yields were associated with fewer spikes in 1986–1987 and lighter seed weight in both growing seasons. Soil compaction (1986–1987) increased linearly with grazing duration and may have contributed to reductions in grain yield. Cattle rate of gain grazing the wheat ranged from 2.44 to 3.90 Ib/d and beef production ranged from 302 to 685 lb/acre. Using a Hessian fly ( Mayetiola destructor Say) resistant cultivar of winter wheat will enable farmers in the Southeast to plant wheat early in the fall for forage to support a high level of beef production until at least the jointing stage and still harvest an economical yield of grain in the spring.