Description
Maturity refers to the number of days that a variety takes to produce harvestable grain. Variations in maturity are useful for avoiding certain environmental stresses such as freeze injury, heat damage, drought injury, and disease. For example, late-maturing varieties may be less prone to late season frost because they are less likely to be flowering than an earlier-maturing variety. On the other hand, early-maturing wheat varieties may avoid the high temperatures and drought stress often experienced later in the growing season. Such varieties also are more likely to escape leaf diseases during grain fill. Choose a combination of varieties with a range of maturities to spread the risk from environmental stresses and the workload at harvest.