By Amanda Kerr
Low rainfall, coupled with unseasonably warm temperatures, has led to a very dry spring throughout much of North Carolina.
With no precipitation falling in most areas of the state earlier this month, the North Carolina Drought Management Advisory Council announced on April 14 that severe and extreme drought conditions now cover more than 95% of the state. Raleigh and Charlotte have each received less than 2 inches of rain since March 1 and are in areas of the state experiencing extreme drought. Both cities have implemented water restrictions amid ongoing dry forecasts.
The lack of rain and dry soil is complicating the growing season for North Carolina farmers who are in the thick of planting crops for summer and fall harvests. To understand how farmers can navigate these drought conditions, we caught up with Emmanuel Torres Quezada, assistant professor of horticultural science with NC State University’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and an NC State Extension vegetable specialist, whose research focuses on evaluating production practices that optimize plant yield, including water and nutrient management.
How does drought at the beginning of a growing season impact yield?
Early-season drought primarily limits stand establishment, root development and early canopy formation, which sets the ceiling for yield potential, regardless of variety selection. Even if rainfall improves later, crops rarely fully recover from poor early vigor. In vegetables, this often results in non-uniform growth and early flowering (without enough canopy support), which translates to reduced marketable yield. The impact is particularly strong in shallow-rooted crops, in sandy soils or systems with black plastic mulch.
Source : ncsu.edu