Wheat Growing Checklist, Duly Vetted by Dr. Asif Sharif

This checklist, revised September 2024 from Dr. Asif Sharif's wheat lectures, opens with land preparation: laser-level the field, rip the hardpan (typically 400-450 psi compaction, 12-14 inches thick in most fields) by deep ploughing, then water-wash to leach salts, using sulfuric acid (diluted 10 liters in 200 liters of water per acre) where soil pH exceeds 8 to convert chemical residues into salts that move below the root zone. Beds are then formed 42 inches wide with 5 lines of wheat per bed, mulched with live or dead cover, live preferred provided it stays shorter than the wheat.

The checklist's numeric core sets ideal spacing at 9 inches by 9 inches, targeting a plant population of 62,000 per acre averaging 35 tillers per plant, with a single well-spaced seed capable of producing 80-85 tillers under optimal conditions. A PQNK wheat panicle is stated to average 76 large grains against 60 smaller grains for conventional wheat, and PQNK grain weight runs roughly double conventional (8g vs. 4g per unit referenced in the source lectures). Because sowing in the recommended third week of September runs into residual heat, the checklist calls for pruning (up to three times) to keep the crop under 6-8 inches tall until January, with continuous sheep grazing preferred over goat grazing since sheep graze more uniformly and cause less soil disturbance, targeting 35 tillers per plant by the start of January.

On nutrition, the checklist argues against DAP and urea on cost-effectiveness grounds specific to their chemistry: DAP's phosphate component converts to inaccessible calcium phosphate within a week to ten days, while its urea component retains effectiveness for only 8-10 days, so the spend delivers little lasting benefit versus letting soil microbes mineralize the substantial native nutrient reserves already in the soil. A first-year PQNK crop showing yellowing is the one exception noted, where a 2% NPK foliar spray (applied morning or evening for 30-45 minutes of leaf absorption) is recommended as a corrective measure.

A national-scale yield comparison anchors the paper's economic case: using acre dimensions of 198 x 220 feet (40 beds across, 44 down, 8,800 running feet of bed), a target of 2 million wheat heads per acre at a minimum 60 seeds per head projects to roughly 5,454 kg, or about 136 maunds per acre, against Pakistan's national average of 28 maunds. The paper also notes multicropping compatibility (radish, vegetables, sugarcane, mustard, peas, and Lucerne intercropping) and reports that PQNK wheat has commanded an international 'Super Organic' price point of $600 per ton, against roughly $400 for certified organic and $200 for conventional wheat.