ABOUT one-fourth of the wheat grown in this country
is produced in the so-called eastern region, which
includes all the States east of the Mississippi River and
adjacent areas west of the river that have 30 inches or
more average annual precipitation. Included are the eastern
parts of Texas and Oklahoma, southeastern Kansas,
Missouri, Arkansas, and Illinois. The western boundary is
based on the type of farming and class of wheat that predominate.
It is somewhat irregular and overlapping, as
there is no sharp line of demarcation between the soft
winter, hard winter, and spring wheat regions.
The soft red winter wheat grown in this region is used
for cake, cracker, biscuit, pastry, and general-purpose
flours, and the white wheat is used for prepared breakfast
cereals and for weaker flours used in making cookies. Most
of the wheat is softer in texture and lower in protein content
than the hard wheats, used for making bread flours,
that are grown in the Plains States.
In this eastern wheat-producing region, wheat is one of
the leading crops. It is grown largely as a supplement to
other crops. It fits well into rotations and serves as a cover
crop to retard soil erosion and leaching during the late fall,
winter, and early spring. A good cash crop, wheat also
provides very satisfactory pasture in the fall and winter,
and its use for this purpose is increasing.
About 65 different varieties of wheat are grown commercially
in the east, with the soft red winter wheat predominant.
White winter wheats are grown extensively in
New York and Michigan, and hard red winter varieties are
grown in Illinois and Missouri.
This bulletin describes the varieties suitable for different
States, discusses methods and practices contributing to
success, such as early preparation of the ground, fertilization,
timely seeding with reference to possible damage from
the hessian fly, and winterkilling. Diseases and their control
are discussed.
The bulletin is a revision of and supersedes Farmers'
Bulletin 1817, Growing Wheat in the Eastern United States.
Washington, D. C. Issued September 1951
