Just as Kansas winter wheat fields are greening up, producers gathered at recent Wheat Rx seminars in Salina and Colby to gain insights into the latest research recommendations for how to maximize the yield and quality of this year’s harvest. The seminars, conducted on March 11 in Salina and March 12 in Colby, provided a comprehensive overview of the combined impact of varietal selection and best management practices.

“A successful harvest is the culmination of the choices producers make throughout the growing season, from selecting area-appropriate varieties to fertilization programs to disease and pest management decisions,” said Aaron Harries, vice president of research and operations for Kansas Wheat. “Wheat Rx is about helping producers make informed decisions every step of the way.”

The seminars were part of Wheat Rx, a partnership between Kansas Wheat and K-State Research and Extension, to disseminate the latest research recommendations for high-yielding and high-quality wheat to Kansas wheat farmers. This effort includes a series of extension publications at kswheat.com/wheatrx and educational outreach.

Kicking off the event, Allan Fritz, K-State wheat breeder, discussed the most recent field data from the performance trials conducted each year across the state. Based on high variability in field data in recent years — driven largely by spotty rain and prevalent drought conditions — he encouraged growers to consider multiple years of performance testing when selecting wheat varieties and he cautioned against relying on one year’s outstanding or poor performance. Top traits to watch include not just the overall yield potential, but also stability, disease resistance and quality.

“If it works on your farm, keep using it,” Fritz advised.

Speakers also addressed the importance of fertility management, with Dorivar Ruiz Diaz, K-State associate professor and nutrient management specialist in agronomy, discussing nitrogen and phosphorus applications. He emphasized the importance of striking a balance between optimum agronomic applications and economic efficiency.

“How can we keep efficiency in our applications but cut back on rates?” he asked, highlighting the benefits of split nitrogen applications and the need to consider other nutrients like sulfur in soil testing programs.

Disease management was another crucial topic, with Kelsey Andersen Onofre providing an overview of the relative threat and varietal resistance to diseases like rust, Wheat Streak Mosaic Virus (WSMV) and its related viruses, Fusarium Head Blight (FHB), Barley Yellow Dwarf and others.

“Looking at average statewide yield loss from 2013 to 2023, stripe rust is by and far the largest disease threat to the Kansas wheat crop,” she noted, highlighting K-State’s new Stripe Rust Risk Forecasting Tool, developed in collaboration with Pennsylvania State University, which allows producers to track as rust spreads from southern states into Kansas. She also emphasized control of volunteer wheat and termination of cover crops that can serve as a green bridge for vectors like the wheat curl mite as critical for all producers.

Other topics included a discussion on weed management by Sarah Lancaster, K-State assistant professor and extension specialist, including the newly released 2025 Chemical Weed Control guide. Of note, she discussed the rise of jointed goatgrass as a weed to watch since there are limited chemical control options in certain wheat varieties.

Romulo Lollato, K-State associate professor of wheat and forage production, rounded out the day with a long-term research project examining the impacts of different management decisions when combined with specific varietal selections. He emphasized that intensive management will likely pay off for producers, particularly for susceptible varieties, but that the initial choice in varietal selection will go a long way to meeting a producer’s goals.

“If you are willing to put the time and money into management, you have more options to select from when it comes to varieties,” he stated. “But just avoiding susceptible varieties can make a lot of difference for producers who want simpler management options.”

The presenters collectively reinforced the importance of integrating research recommendations with a producer’s practical knowledge and on-the-ground experience to strike a balance between maximum yield potential and economic return on investment. Kansas growers can find research recommendations and tools discussed at https://agmanager.info/.

Specifically for wheat producers, Wheat Rx also includes a series of Extension publications and other educational outreach materials designed to address key management areas of hard winter wheat. These publications contain recent data based on novel research funded in part by wheat farmers through the Kansas Wheat Commission’s two-cent wheat assessment. Find out more at https://kswheat.com/wheatrx.