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March 17, 2005 Cold March Weather Puts Winter Wheat at Risk The unusually cold March weather in eastern North Dakota, coupled with little or no snow cover, has increased the risk of damage to winter wheat, according to Joel Ransom, North Dakota State University Extension agronomist for cereal crops. “How well a winter wheat crop survives the winter depends on a number of factors, but weather conditions and snow cover in March often are the determining factors,” Ransom says. “A winter wheat crop with a reasonable level of development in the fall that will tolerate temperatures as low as minus 10 in December may be damaged if temperatures dip to 15 degrees in March if there is no snow to insulate it.” Winter wheat is more susceptible to cold injury in the spring because energy reserves are depleted during the winter. Winter wheat is particularly sensitive to cold weather in the spring if it follows a period when temperatures are above 48 degrees. Winter wheat responds to warm weather by initiating new growth. As it starts to grow, it becomes less tolerant to subfreezing temperatures. “Winter wheat crops without snow cover certainly could be damaged by the cold temperatures we have experienced these last two weeks in eastern North Dakota,” Ransom says. “However, the fact that we have not had a prolonged period of warm weather prior to our current cold spell could bode well for our current crop, particularly if winter hardy varieties were grown and well established last fall.” Winter damage can be assessed before spring green-up by taking representative samples into a well-lit, heated room. After a few days, root and leaf growth should be visible if the plants are healthy. ### Source: Joel
Ransom, (701) 231-7405, joel.ransom@ndsu.edu |
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North Dakota State University |
