Crop & CanopyA life in growing
THE CROPS

Wheat

The winter crop beyond the golden field: sowing work, irrigation, drainage, weeds and a harvest seen in daylight and under working lights.

Triticum spp.
A closer view of the wheat field.
A closer view of the wheat field. From our farm archive.
The crop
Annual cereal crop · this notebook follows wheat separately from Khapli
Growing season
Rabi · the cool-season crop in our 2025–26 records.
Our notebook
Rabi 2025–26 · selected account entries and archive footage
MEET THE CROP

A closer acquaintance.

A wheat plant begins with leaves close to the ground. Tillers add shoots; stems extend and heads emerge. After flowering, kernels fill and ripen. A field changes in height, texture and colour through those stages. Our notebook follows the work around those changes, including water supply, drainage, weed work and harvest handling. The Khapli season has its own profile and processing story.

GENERAL GROWING GUIDE

How the crop grows.

Follow the stages. Their timing changes with the variety, weather and growing conditions.

  1. 01

    Seedling and roots

    Leaves emerge as the young root system establishes. Look across the stand for gaps, uneven growth and wet patches.

  2. 02

    Tillers and extending stems

    Additional shoots form near the base. Later, stems extend and joints become easier to find.

  3. 03

    Heads and flowering

    The head emerges from its enclosing leaf sheath. Flowering precedes the period when kernels gain weight.

  4. 04

    Grain filling and maturity

    Kernels pass through milk and dough stages before ripening. A golden field still needs a check of grain condition before harvest.

IN THE FIELD

What shapes the season.

Follow the stage, not only the date

Irrigation decisions need crop stage, soil moisture and weather together. Crown-root initiation and flowering are especially sensitive stages in the TNAU guidance.

Plan the route for water

The farm records include pipes, fittings, a pump and drainage labour. Record supply work and excess-water problems separately.

Return to the same patch

Return to the same patch after weed work or a treatment. Note fresh growth, continuing symptoms and any change in soil moisture alongside the date and work done.

FROM OUR FARM · RABI 2025–26 · SELECTED ACCOUNT ENTRIES AND ARCHIVE FOOTAGE

One season, in the notebook.

The farm accounts trace seed-drill repairs, water supply, drainage and harvest work through Rabi 2025–26. The dates below are account-entry dates. April films show the harvest in daylight and under working lights.

  1. Preparing the seed drill

    Seed-drill repair and pipe entries appear in the accounts.

  2. Supplying the irrigation system

    The account describes tractor fuel for an alternator-and-motor irrigation setup; surrounding entries include pipe and fittings.

  3. Drainage enters the record

    The accounts record labour for draining flooded wheat fields.

  4. Work among the weeds

    The accounts record hand-weeding work shared between wheat and chana.

  5. Harvest accounts

    A wheat harvester payment is recorded after separate daylight and working-light harvest views in the archive.

Follow the season’s work in the dated entries above.

CROP QUESTIONS

When the field looks different.

Water in the wrong place

Distinguish a dry root zone from standing water. The same crop may need irrigation in one area and a drainage route in another.

Read the field guide Read the field case

A treatment entry without a diagnosis

A spray was entered in the accounts under “blight”, though the disease was never identified more precisely. Check fresh symptoms and the field’s recent history before choosing a treatment.

Read the field guide Read the field case

A load without a weight

Trolley counts and a grain pile show handling. Weighed grain and a defined area are needed before comparing yields.

Read the field guide Read the field case
FROM FIELD TO FOOD

Another life after harvest.

After harvest come drying, cleaning and storage, each with its own checks and batch weights. The gathered grain then moves towards milling.

Follow the crop into food
CHOSEN FOR THIS CROP

Stay a little longer.

Journal / FIELD READING

Wheat, and the work that carries it

Before the combine comes the seed drill, the water, the repairs and the weeds. Our Rabi 2025–26 wheat season, from preparing the ground to bringing the grain in.

Farm story · 4 min read
Field Guide / FIELD READING

Water has its own timetable

Pumps, rain, drainage and crop stages: why irrigation begins with reading the field.

Growing guide · 2 min read
Sources behind this profile

Sources and further reading.