Most wheat, oats, and barley varieties grow during cool seasons and mature as the weather warms. Growing from early winter with a late spring harvest, the crop is less vulnerable to warm season pests. However, there are issues that arise during the cool season. One of the most prominent issues is cereal cyst nematodes. If you’re curious and asking, “what are cereal cyst nematodes,” read on for an explanation.
Cereal Cyst Nematode Info
Nematodes are tiny worms, often roundworms and cutworms. Some are free-living, feeding on plant materials such as wheat, oats, and barley. These can cause extreme damage and make crops unsaleable.
Yellowing patches above ground can indicate you have this nematode in the crop. Roots may be swollen, ropey, or knotted with shallow growth. Small white cysts on the root system are female nematodes, loaded with hundreds of eggs. Juveniles do the damage. They hatch when temperatures drop and autumn rain occurs.
Warm and dry weather in fall delay hatching. These nematodes do not usually appear and develop until after the second planting of a cereal crop in the same field.
Cereal Cyst Nematode Control
Learn how to stop cereal cyst nematodes to avoid such issues with your crops. A few ways to do this include:
- Plant early to allow a good root system to develop.
- Grow resistant types of cereal cultivars to limit chances of nematodes.
- Rotate crops every year or two. The first planting seasons are not usually when cereal cyst nematodes occur. If a serious infestation occurs, wait two years before planting a cereal crop in the spot again.
- Practice good sanitation, keeping weeds out of your rows as much as possible. If you plant an alternate crop in the same spot in summer, keep weeds down then as well.
- Amend soil to improve drainage and keep the soil as fertile as possible.
Fertile, weed-free, and well-draining soil is less likely to retain these pests. Cereal cyst nematodes only feed on grasses and cereal crops and use those plants for hosts. Plant a non-cereal crop in spring to encourage those remaining to move out because of no host and food shortage.
Once your field is infested, cereal cyst nematode control is not practical. It is highly dangerous to use chemicals on these crops and the cost is prohibitive. Use the tips above to keep your field free of the pest.
-
Get Gardening For Better Sleep: Why Gardens And Plants Can Give You Happier BedtimesWe all know gardening is intrinsically linked to a ‘feel good’ factor – have you ever wondered why it helps with rest? Here’s the thinking behind gardening for better sleep…
-
Electric Composter Guide: Are Countertop Food Recyclers The Future Of Sustainability?Discover how electric composters work, their benefits and limitations – and whether they're worth the investment as a sustainable easy win.
-
Gluten Free Grain: How To Grow Sorghum As A Gluten Free SubstituteSorghum doesn't enjoy as much popularity today as it did in the 1800s. But it is making a comeback.
-
Wild Millet Grass – Learn About Growing Proso Millet PlantsIt looks like a corn seedling, but it's not. Birds flock to it, but farmers may not. Is wild millet a weed or a beneficial plant? Click here to find out.
-
Using Broomcorn For Crafts – How To Harvest Broomcorn PlantsBroomcorn produces big, fluffy seed heads that resemble the end of a broom. If you’re feeling crafty and would like to know more about using broomcorn as well as tips on harvesting the plant, click this article to learn more.
-
What Is Broomcorn – How To Grow Broomcorn PlantsDo you wonder where those broom straws originate, the ones that are bound tightly into the broom you may still use for sweeping porches and hardwood floors inside? These fibers come from a plant called broomcorn, a variety of sorghum. Learn more here.
-
What Is Winnowing – Chaff And Winnowing Garden SeedsGrowing your own grain in the garden is a practice that’s gaining in popularity, and while it’s a little intensive, it can also be very rewarding. Click here to learn the meanings of chaff and winnowing, and what they have to do with harvesting grain and other crops.
-
Harvesting Small Grains: How And When To Harvest Grain CropsHarvesting small grains as an individual can be tricky, without big threshing machines, but our ancestors did it and so can we. Knowing when to harvest grain is the first step, but you also need to know how to thresh, winnow and store it for best results. This article can help.
-
Growing Small Grain Crops – Small Grain Information for Home GardenersMore gardeners are beginning to shift their attention to multi-purpose crops like small grains, which serve multiple functions in commercial applications, homesteads, and family farms. Growing small grains is a rewarding way to maximize space and yields. Learn more here.
-
Seed And Chaff Separation – How To Separate Seed From ChaffHave you heard of the phrase ‘separating the wheat from the chaff’? It’s likely that you didn’t give too much thought to the saying, but it refers to separating seeds from chaff. What is chaff and why is seed and chaff separation important? Find out in this article.
