KANSAS CITY, Mo. (Reuters) – When Kansas State University crops specialist Roger Stockton stepped outside and saw frost on his pickup truck, he knew the new hard red winter wheat crop was in trouble.
With temperatures dipping below freezing for several hours May 14 in northwestern and central areas of Kansas, the largest U.S. wheat-producing state, the wheat likely suffered potentially significant freeze damage, Stockton and other wheat experts said.
“I would expect some damage. It was below freezing for six hours,” said Stockton, who is based in the northwestern town of Colby, Kansas. “If the wheat was headed out … it probably got some damage because that is the most sensitive time frame.”
Read Also
Agriculture ministers commit to enhancing competitiveness
Canadian ag ministers said they want to ensure farmers, ranchers and processors are competitive through ongoing regulatory reform and business risk management programs that work.
Stockton said worried farmers were keeping his phone lines busy that morning, calling with their concerns. But it will be several days at least before damage will be detectable.
The telltale signs will be found in whiteness of the plants’ awns or spikes, along with damage to the lower stem and leaf discolouration, according to crop experts.
The damage can kill the head entirely or at least significantly lower the plant’s yield potential.
“We won’t know for a couple weeks. Freeze damage is very difficult to see right away,” said wheat farmer Ray Crumbaker, from Brewster, Kansas.
“But the wheat we thought was going to go ahead and do something now has the possibility of being damaged.”
On May 17, the weekly USDA crop report slightly downgraded the winter wheat crop status. The amount rated excellent dropped to seven percent from eight percent the week before. The amount rated good rose by one to 38 percent. The amount rated fair was constant at 31 percent and the poor to very poor category held at 24 percent.
Meteorlogix forecaster Mike Palmerino said the freeze covered a widespread area of western and northern Kansas, areas where most of the new hard red wheat crop is either heading or flowering, both vulnerable stages.
The cold weather also may have harmed some of the crop in eastern Colorado and southwestern Nebraska, Palmerino said.
Temperatures are expected to surge to above normal this week, but dry weather is returning to the region, adding another layer of stress to the crop, Palmerino said.
