What Are the Six Stages of the Life Cycle of a Wheat Plant?
The growth of a wheat plant is measured in stages. Understanding the stages of growth is important to help farmers optimize the yield. Stress and drought affect plants differently during each stage of growth. There are many systems used to measure the stages of growth, including Fekes, Zadoks and Haun scales, which are all rather complicated, but there are six basic stages of growth for a wheat plant. Seedling Stage The first stage of growth in wheat is called the seedling stage. This stage occurs after germination and begins when the first true leaves emerge from the soil, and ends when the first tiller emerges. During the seedling stage the second leaves are just emerging and beginning to unroll, and there are as many as six seminal roots. Tillering Stage Tillers are new shoots that are sent up from the root of the plant. Each tiller can grow its own stalk and seed head, so the number of tillers will determine the potential yield of the plant. Tillering can occur either before or aft
