Early Planting to Avoid Heat Doesn’t Match Current Spring Wheat Production

Planting wheat earlier in the spring to avoid crop damage from ever-hotter summers may not keep harvests on pace with current levels.

That’s a key finding from new research at Washington State University challenging assumptions that earlier planting could offset the effects of a warming climate. Researchers used computer modeling to show that moving crop plantings earlier in the season brings about other plant growth issues that could hinder productivity.

The findings were published in Communications, Earth, and Environment.

“Over the years, a lot of studies addressing climate change in agriculture have talked in positive terms about earlier planting as a fix for increased heat,” said Kirti Rajagopalan, an assistant professor in WSU’s Department of Biological Systems Engineering. “We wanted to look at that more critically because it seemed very simplified. We thought the reality could be more nuanced, and that is reflected in our findings.”