Is durum wheat amenable to an ultra‐early seeding system and associated abiotic stress?

Abstract Ultra‐early seeding provides several benefits for hexaploid wheat ( Triticum aestivum L.), including an extended planting window, grain yield protection, enhancement and stability, earlier harvest, and improved weed competitiveness. However, a knowledge gap exists around whether durum wheat ( Triticum turgidum ssp. durum ) is also amenable to this practice. Thus, an experiment was conducted at four locations in Alberta and Saskatchewan, Canada, from 2022 to 2024. The treatment combinations consisted of five durum wheat cultivars, planted at six soil temperature triggers separated by 2°C increments beginning at 0°C through to 10°C. Among the cultivars, irrespective of planting time, AAC Donlow, CDC Defy, and AAC Stronghold attained similar grain yields when averaged across all environments, which were superior to CDC Desire and Transcend. Planting at a soil temperature of 2°C measured at the 5‐cm soil depth generally resulted in higher grain yields and greater net returns. Moreover, a partial least squares regression‐additive Main effects and multiplicative interaction analysis indicated that a 2°C planting system was better adapted to warmer June and arid summer conditions, which suggests the system imparts enhanced heat and drought stress resilience. If planting was delayed—that is, ≥10°C soil temperature—a yield drag was usually experienced. Grain protein concentration was not affected by the soil temperature trigger. Thus, commercially available durum cultivars are amenable to ultra‐early seeding and optimized when planted at a soil temperature of 2°C, which could increase returns by $CAD 134 ha −1 . Future studies will investigate durum responses when planted ultra‐early versus dormant‐plantings in fall, with variations to planting depth.