Frost Seeding Cereals!

A relatively new and successful innovation is the early seeding of spring cereals into frosted soil with a no-till drill. Frost seeding can have such a dramatic impact on yields that spring cereals can play a more prominent role in our crop plans.

More Yield!

Farmer experience with frost seeding has been 15 - 25% higher yields. Some have had up to 50% more yield! The earlier you can seed spring cereals, the better the yield! Acres seeded into frost reduce the work to be done as spring arrives, and are growing even if the spring is wet. Research and on-farm trials have being very successful, so the risk appears low. There are far more opportunities to frost seed than most growers believe.

Cereals are a cool-season crop. Cereals will germinate at soil temperatures of 4°C or less. While emergence is faster at higher temperatures, cereals do not suffer from cold temperatures during germination the way soybeans and corn do. Research has shown that delayed seeding of spring cereals results in yield losses of 1.5 bushels/acre/day or greater. Lodging potential increases with delayed planting dates, and test weights drop.

Wendy Asbil at Kemptville College, Dr. Duane Falk and Dr. Bill Deen at Elora, University of Guelph conducted frost seeding research with oat, barley and spring wheat varieties in 2003 and 2004. At the Kemptville location, results showed that frost seeding (April 12^th) increased oat yields by 5% (4 bushels per acre) more then the early traditional seeding date (April 26^th). With barley, the yield advantage from frost seeding over the traditional early seeding was not as consistent, however the 1,000 kernel weight was higher with frost seeding. The lack of consistent results with barley may be contributed to barley’s amazing ability to tiller and its greater susceptibility to “wet feet” syndrome. Farmer trials have shown better response to frost seeding with barley than the research trials. 2004 results at Elora show incredible advantages to frost seeding (Table1)

Table 1 - Frost Seeding vs Dry Soil Yields

	Yield Avg Frost	Yield Avg Dry Soil	% Yield Increase
Barley	60	54	10.0
Oat	128	110	16.7
Wheat	52	36	41.5

Falk & Deen, University of Guelph, 2004

Grower trials have been successful on well drained, tiled fields, and poorly drained, untiled fields. The greatest advantage may be on the poorly drained fields, where normal seeding dates are delayed. Other advantages to frost seeding include spreading out the workload, increased weed suppression, reduced heat and drought stress, and earlier harvest. Frost seeding results in slightly reduced plant populations and slightly lower protein, so these factors need to be managed.

Steps To Frost Seeding Cereals

1. Be Prepared. Opportunities for frost seeding appear and disappear quickly. The ideal conditions are when:
   • there is little or no snow
   • ·the ground is no longer frozen
   • night temperatures drop to -2° to -7° C.
2. Seeding can often start by 10:00 p.m. and continue until the sun comes out, or the ground gets too hard. Aim for air temperatures of -2 to -6° C. Listen to your drill. As soil becomes frozen solid, the drill begins to sound like it is travelling over a gravel pit. STOP! Significant damage can occur when the ground is frozen solid.
3. Avoid compaction or rutting. Use equipment set up to minimize compaction under normal conditions. Tires at 6 psi inflation need less frost to carry than tires at 30 psi.
4. Crop rotation is important. Following soybeans is best. Do not grow wheat or barley following corn.
5. Weed control is important. Fields that have been sprayed with a fall burndown (glyphosate) work best, with no dandelion, chickweed or quackgrass pressure. Frost seeded crops are 1 to 2 weeks ahead of normal crops, thus weed control must be completed earlier to avoid yield loss from weed competition. Leaving dandelions and other perennials uncontrolled until the 10^th of May is simply not acceptable.
6. Use a no-till drill that can slice into light frosted soil and place the seed into the bottom of the trench. Aim for a 1 inch seeding depth (1/2 inch is still okay). Don't worry about the seed slot closing. The slot will close when the frost comes out the following day. Grower experience with broadcast seeding on the soil surface has been extremely variable, and in some cases disastrous. Get the seed in the ground!
7. Keep your seeding rate up.Kemptville College research found a yield advantage to a higher seeding rate than the traditionally recommended seeding rates (Table 2). Field trials have not shown a need for higher seeding rates. Keep seeding rates at the high end of the range, or increase by 10% above the targeted plant population. This will compensate for the lower plant populations experienced.
   
   

   Table 2- Recommended Plant Populations for Cereal Crops
   Target Plan Population

   Crop	Plants/sq.m.	Seeds/acre (x 1,ooo)
   Barley	250 - 350	1,000 - 1,400
   Oats	200 - 300	800 - 1,200
   Mixed Grain	200 - 350	800 - 1,400
   Spring Wheat	300 - 400	1,200 - 1,600

   OMAFRA Publication 811, Agronomy Guide for Field Crops
   
   
8. Use a starter fertilizer. Farm trials have shown a yield response of 8 bu/ac to seed placed starter fertilizer. When the soil is cold, phosphorus is less readily available. Use a liquid or dry fertilizer with the seed, such as 50 to 100 pounds per acre of MAP. This might mean mixing the seed and the fertilizer together in the seed box.
9. Use fungicide treated seed. Seed germination and emergence is slower than traditional, dry soil seeding dates.
10. Plant the headlands first. Farmers who have done frost seeding will tell you that the wheel traffic lets the frost in even more, making the headlands difficult to plant into afterwards.
11. Be prepared to topdress your nitrogen fertilizer, spray and harvest earlier. Nitrogen should be applied at the 3 to 5 leaf stage. Annual weeds will be more advanced than traditional seeding dates. Frost seeded cereals will be ready to harvest about a week earlier than cereals seeded at a traditional seeding date. Delayed harvest can result in a lower grade.