Minecraft wiki entry for Wheat, associated text: When a fully-grown wheat crop is harvested, it drops 1 wheat and 1 to 4 wheat seeds. A wheat crop has a total of eight stages (0-7) from the time it is planted until it can be harvested. If a crop is harvested before it is fully grown, it just drops one seed. Wheat needs light to grow; a seed is destroyed if planted without light. Harvesting with a Fortune-enchanted tool increases the number of seeds dropped but does not increase the yield of wheat.