Coleoptile length of wheat varieties

Summary

Coleoptile length is an important characteristic to consider when planting a wheat crop, especially in drier seasons when sowing deep to reach soil moisture.

The coleoptile is the pointed protective sheath that encases the emerging shoot as it grows from the seed to the soil surface.

For wheat seed to emerge successfully from the soil, the seed should never be planted deeper than the coleoptile length.

Sowing varieties with short coleoptile lengths too deep can cause poor establishment, as the shoot will emerge from the coleoptile underground and it may never reach the soil surface.

Information provided in this factsheet includes:

• Table 1: National Variety Trials used for coleoptile length measurement.
• Table 2: Coleoptile length and predicted mean coleoptile length of early sown wheat varieties grown at 3 sites in NSW during 2008.
• Table 3: Coleoptile length and predicted mean coleoptile length of main season sown wheat varieties grown at 7 sites in Australia during 2007 and 2008.