Early Bird
5 year old buck +
Happy Memorial Day all! Does anyone have any experience with Awnless Wheat? I have read it is better for food plots. Is it a better option for Deer than normal wheat?
Thanks
Thanks
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Awnless Wheat
- Thread starter Early Bird
- Start date
Suburbhunter
5 year old buck +
I planted awnless last fall. Dr. Craig Harper is a big proponent of awnless wheat because he says that deer and other wildlife will eat awnless seedheads more readily than awned seed heads providing more food. I don't know if one or the other is particularly better for a food plot itself.
yoderjac
5 year old buck +
Nope. Not better at all. Just a little different. Some folks think they prefer the seed heads but my deer don't show much preference between cereal grains. Seed heads are not a major food source but deer do use them. My preference is actually winter rye. It is better for the soil, helps keep weeds at bay, requires less fertility and can handle poor pH. My deer will use cereal pretty much indiscriminately. I don't pick WR as much for the deer as for the other benefits.
Thanks,
Jack
Early Bird
5 year old buck +
Did you throw and mow or till?
I have planted both. I could tell no difference in what the deer chose in the fall or winter. I dont really want my deer eating my wheat heads - because I dove hunt over my wheat. Deer, coons, and hogs all eat my awned wheat - as they did the awnless wheat. My deer density is fairly high - so that might make a difference. I have growing soybeans - and the deer have not touched my awned wheat heads this year. I think there are a number of factors that will make a difference. If all you have to worry about is your deer - and the density is not too high - you might be better off getting deer to eat awnless wheat. If the deer density is fairly high, you have a lot of coons, and some hogs - dont bother.
Suburbhunter
5 year old buck +
My ground was tilled.
Early Bird
5 year old buck +
Thanks for the replies! If I were to plant wheat and rye together on a new plot, what seed rate would be recommended? PH is 5.4, I just added 1400 lbs of lime this weekend. I am in southern Ohio and I am thinking I will plant around Labor day weekend.
Ray
Ray
SD51555
5 year old buck +
The idea behind awnless wheat is for gum health for the grazers. Those awns are evil when they get wedged in the gums of a cow or deer. It's also got a longer spring grazing period than rye. So if you need/want some extra time after rye has gone to hard straw and seed heads, put in some AWW.
Early Bird
5 year old buck +
Great info, thanks!
yoderjac
5 year old buck +
Total cereal component can be 60 to 100 lbs per acre. You can mix an ratio you want.
Catscratch
5 year old buck +
I've been planting wheat my whole life and have gone solely to awnless for plots. It's cheaper to buy than regular wheat, provides a high protein grain in the dry heat of summer (when other plants are starting to drop in protein content), and is a preferred winter green plant over winter rye. I still use winter rye in my mixes but it is certainly not used as much as wheat on my place. I can't come up with a single reason to use bearded wheat over awnless. Winter rye has some different properties that can give you reason to use it, but it doesn't have near the draw that wheat does (in my area, your area might be different).
Catscratch
5 year old buck +
It's just as easy as winter rye. Just throw it out and get a little moisture on it. For good grain production it might take a little nitrogen but I seldom actually fertilize my crops, instead I just try to keep the soil in good condition with rotations and periodic applications according to soil tests.
Catscratch
5 year old buck +
Best pics I have of the wheat and rye plot that I have right now. Deer aren't currently grazing in it but they are still spending time in the plot.
Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk
Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk
If I could rely on zero snow on the ground for gun season up here, I'd never plant anything but annual (fixation balansa) clover mixed with WR, or maybe this magical awnless wheat..... Buckwheat in the Spring. I don't think the two acres or so I plant makes much of a difference overwinter, the deer mostly leave and hang out a mile away eating corn from a feeder.
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Catscratch
5 year old buck +
I believe sd is doing some testing on awness's ability to survive up north. We don't get real snow here so I can't tell you what to expect.
Yours is a lot further along than mine. Here's what mine looked like Saturday. I terminated it yesterday though, because thistle, horsetail, and ferns were in there too.Best pics I have of the wheat and rye plot that I have right now. Deer aren't currently grazing in it but they are still spending time in the plot.
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I'm less concerned about it surviving the Winter than I am it just getting covered in six inches of hard crusty snow during gun season. If it doesn't come back in the Spring, no big deal. But in my limited experience, as soon as my WR was well covered, the deer gave up on it. But, they'll dig for a turnip. Just for grins, I'm adding a pound of Kohlrabi to the brassica mix this year.
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Catscratch
5 year old buck +
Your's looks like mine does in the middle of winter. We warm up a lot earlier than you guys do. The wrong weeds can be a deal breaker on a plot! I'm ok with weeds and diversity in general, but the wrong weeds have to be addressed!
I need to keep working on the PH....
