Applications of raised-bed planting systems to wheat

Wheat has traditionally been planted in solid stands, especially in irrigated environments and rainfed production systems with moderate to high rainfall. Wheat is usually planted by either drilling closely spaced rows 10-30 cm apart on the flat or by broadcasting the seed on a leveled soil surface and then incorporating it by means of a shallow tillage operation. These conventional wheat planting systems are probably a carryover from the rather random, scattered stands in which wheat and other small grain cereals were first encountered. These cereals were collected for food and ultimately domesticated, initially through cultivation with crude hand tools and later by using simple, animal-drawn implements. In northwest Mexico (especially in the State of Sonora), researchers and farmers have developed and implemented what is fundamentally a new system for planting wheat. As a result, wheat in this part of Mexico is no longer planted as a conventional solid stand but rather on raised beds, usually 70-90 cm wide, with 2-3 rows on top of each bed. The furrows or corrugations between the beds are used for irrigation water application. This planting system is quite different from the furrow-irrigated system occasionally found in some irrigated wheat areas where the wheat seed is broadcast or drilled on the flat followed by the formation of irrigation furrows or corrugations at approximately 90-cm intervals. With this system, the emerging wheat plants form what is essentially a solid stand in the space between the irrigation furrows, with many plants emerging from the furrows themselves. However, this system does allow the use of furrow irrigation, which provides better water management and drainage opportunities than the more traditional flood irrigation technique. The system used by farmers in northwest Mexico is quite unique in that the wheat is generally planted only on top of the raised beds, with a defined number of rows on each bed and a specific spacing between the rows. This paper will attempt to describe the new system and the benefits that farmers in Mexico have attained through its application in irrigated wheat production areas. It will also present the results of trials on wheat bed-planting in rainfed areas where too little and/or too much rain may occur during the growing season.

Bibliographic Details

Main Authors:	Sayre, K.D., Moreno Ramos, O.H.
Format:	Book biblioteca
Language:	English
Published:	CIMMYT 1997
Subjects:	AGRICULTURAL SCIENCES AND BIOTECHNOLOGY, CIMMYT, WHEAT, TRITICUM, CULTIVATION, PLANTING, CROP MANAGEMENT, CROPPING PATTERNS, CROPPING SYSTEMS, RESEARCH PROJECTS, FURROW IRRIGATION, IRRIGATION SYSTEMS, RAIN,
Online Access:	http://hdl.handle.net/10883/1228
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