Latest freeze to affect wheat and possibly yield

Latest freeze to affect wheat and possibly yield
May 23rd, 2022 | cguzman

Dry conditions have been a plaguing factor for this year’s hard red winter wheat crop in Nebraska. Now, after two nights of freezing temperatures on May 21-22, the Panhandle, which grows 70 percent of the wheat in Nebraska, could face dropping yields.

On Friday night in Kimball County, the temperature dropped to 23 degrees. On Saturday night Alliance clocked in as the lowest at 19 degrees, according to the National Weather Service in Cheyenne, Wyo. 

“It was a lot colder than we were expecting,” said Cody Creech, Nebraska Extension dryland cropping specialist at the UNL Panhandle Research and Ext Center in Scottsbluff. “It’s going to cause us a lot of concern as we wait to see what the damage is going forward.”

The freeze will affect the plant, but the effect on yield will depend on the plant’s growth stage.

“Most of the wheat right now is in the boot stage or in the early heading stage. On the whole, for the plant, what we would be looking for would just be that yellowing of the leaves or stem tissue. There could also be some lodging from where it would break over,” Creech said. 

In order to evaluate the injury to the wheat, growers will need to wait four to six days before they will be able to split the stems and see how the wheat head has been affected.” 

Growers with questions or concerns can contact Creech at the UNL Panhandle Research and Ext Center in Scottsbluff (308) 632-1266 or Amanda Easterly at the UNL High Plains Ag Lab near Sidney at 308-254-3918.

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