Last week I wrote about freeze damage to alfalfa and there is now an expanded version on our statewide agronomy website at https://cropwatch.unl.edu/2020/freeze-damage-alfalfa. I have received numerous questions and concerns about winter wheat too. Our western Nebraska Cropping Systems Extension Specialist, Cody Creech, has already written an article about freeze injury to wheat with references to southwest and the panhandle of Nebraska. However, I want to localize the content to southeast Nebraska.
Our area was 2 to 4 degree above average for the month of March based on data from the High Plains Regional Climate Center. There was a 3-day heat wave with 70s and 80s on April 6, 7, and 8. I would consider a hard freeze event to be less than 24 degrees for several hours for wheat this time of year when approaching late tillering growth stages. These events occurred the mornings of April 3, 5, 10, 13, 14, 15 and 16 with temperatures in the teens that did set daily cold records on April 10, 14, or 15 at some weather stations. It is not uncommon to have an early spring warmup in March followed by a return to winter in April. However, the sequence and severity of these cycles are never the same. Growers are concerned with this cycle compared to others in the past. What effects will these recent freeze events have on winter wheat in Saline, Jefferson, and Gage counties?
The saying that “wheat has nine lives” is something to remember during these April freeze events, especially since wheat was in the tillering growth stage. Based on my knowledge and reports, wheat ranged for Feekes 3 (tillering) to Feekes 5 (more upright growth prior to jointing) due to variety maturity and planting dates. The tillering growth stages prior to jointing (Feekes 6) means that the growing point was near to below ground and more protected from injury during these freeze events. Most of the aboveground wheat biomass was burned back due to the multiple freeze events. The wheat does not look pretty. However, the shoot and roots belowground should be white and viable. In this situation, expect regrowth once favorable weather returns this week. This is not to say that there was not any shallow planted wheat in areas of a field where the growing point was less protected.
Additionally, this does not mean that there will not be other negative impacts from these multiple freeze events on the crop:
- Expect delayed maturity (assuming average temperatures rest of the season),
- Loss of some tillers
- Slight yield loss
- Variation in damage and recovery by variety due to variation in dormancy release and early growth and development.
As a reminder, be patient and give the wheat a chance to regrow this week before conducting a thorough assessment. Do not forget, the wheat still has a few of its nine lives left.
Feel free to contact me with questions via email () or phone at 402-821-2151. To learn more about winter wheat management in general, visit https://croptechcafe.org/winterwheat to find additional resources. Know your crop, know you tech, know your bottom line.
Additional Resources on Freeze Injury
- EC132: Freeze Injury to Nebraska Wheat
- CropWatch: Freeze Injury in Winter Wheat a Common Occurrence in Nebraska
- K-State Agronomy eUpdate: Potential for spring freeze injury to wheat on April 3, 2020
