Recent cold temperatures have damaged the wheat crop in Pratt County but just how much damage has been done is hard to say.
Much of the wheat crop in Pratt County is showing brown on the tips of the tillers or leaves and that indicates temperature damage, said Pratt County Extension Agent Mark Ploger.
Most of the snow cover has melted and exposed the wheat to the cold temperatures leaving the wheat vulnerable to freeze damage.
Farmers wanting to find out how badly the crop is damaged can find out by doing a little gardening.
Farmers can dig up a plant and take it inside to where temperatures are at least from 40 degrees to 50 degrees, give it sunlight and water then wait to see if it will green up. That will determine if the plant is still alive, Ploger said.
Even though the wheat is damaged, as long as the plant gets moisture it will work hard to produce a crop.
“Wheat does everything it can to stay alive. It’s a common phrase that eight out of 10 years farmers will get something out of a wheat crop,” Ploger said.
Wheat is tough. Farming lore says a farmer can lose a wheat crop six times before he can count it as a loss.
Because wheat is tough it is difficult how much it will affect the harvest. If the crop gets plenty of moisture in the spring, the crop can come back and do well. It is just too early in the growing season t o know what will happen when the wheat is harvested in June.
However, if it gets windy and dry in March that will work against the crop.
The snow has helped protect the crop from the bitter cold weather. In regions of the country where fruit is grown, farmers will soak up the ground and let ice form on the fruit to protect it from the cold when below freezing temperatures strike.
Water acts the same way to protect the roots in the plant. The closer the moisture is to the growing area of the plant, the more protection it has against the cold.
One of the reasons the wheat has been hit hard is that it was planted later in the year. The wet planting season caused many farmers to plant later than usual or in some cases not at all, Ploger said.
With the late planting, the wheat did not have time tiller out as desired. Wheat should have four or five tillers before the crop goes dormant. The late planting has taken its toll by not producing tillers. Every tiller that develops before the freeze gives the plant a better chance of survival.
While the fall planting season was fairly wet it was mixed with dry conditions and that just wasn’t conducive for getting the wheat in the ground in a timely manner.
While the current wheat condition is hard to determine, a simple examination can reveal if the plant has actually died and won’t produce a crop.
Dig up the plant with the roots. If the bottom of the plant shows dead roots the plant has no way to recover and has been winter killed.
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Recent cold temperatures have damaged the wheat crop in Pratt County but just how much damage has been done is hard to say.
Much of the wheat crop in Pratt County is showing brown on the tips of the tillers or leaves and that indicates temperature damage, said Pratt County Extension Agent Mark Ploger.
Most of the snow cover has melted and exposed the wheat to the cold temperatures leaving the wheat vulnerable to freeze damage.
Farmers wanting to find out how badly the crop is damaged can find out by doing a little gardening.
Farmers can dig up a plant and take it inside to where temperatures are at least from 40 degrees to 50 degrees, give it sunlight and water then wait to see if it will green up. That will determine if the plant is still alive, Ploger said.
Even though the wheat is damaged, as long as the plant gets moisture it will work hard to produce a crop.
“Wheat does everything it can to stay alive. It’s a common phrase that eight out of 10 years farmers will get something out of a wheat crop,” Ploger said.
Wheat is tough. Farming lore says a farmer can lose a wheat crop six times before he can count it as a loss.
Because wheat is tough it is difficult how much it will affect the harvest. If the crop gets plenty of moisture in the spring, the crop can come back and do well. It is just too early in the growing season t o know what will happen when the wheat is harvested in June.
However, if it gets windy and dry in March that will work against the crop.
The snow has helped protect the crop from the bitter cold weather. In regions of the country where fruit is grown, farmers will soak up the ground and let ice form on the fruit to protect it from the cold when below freezing temperatures strike.
Water acts the same way to protect the roots in the plant. The closer the moisture is to the growing area of the plant, the more protection it has against the cold.
One of the reasons the wheat has been hit hard is that it was planted later in the year. The wet planting season caused many farmers to plant later than usual or in some cases not at all, Ploger said.
With the late planting, the wheat did not have time tiller out as desired. Wheat should have four or five tillers before the crop goes dormant. The late planting has taken its toll by not producing tillers. Every tiller that develops before the freeze gives the plant a better chance of survival.
While the fall planting season was fairly wet it was mixed with dry conditions and that just wasn’t conducive for getting the wheat in the ground in a timely manner.
While the current wheat condition is hard to determine, a simple examination can reveal if the plant has actually died and won’t produce a crop.
Dig up the plant with the roots. If the bottom of the plant shows dead roots the plant has no way to recover and has been winter killed.
