Time for Kentucky Wheat Growers to Check for Freeze Damage

 

Kentucky wheat producers may want to check their fields in the next couple of days for signs of freeze damage.  

 

Much of the state experienced temperatures below 32 degrees Fahrenheit the nights and mornings of March 30-April 3. While the temperatures were cold, they did not reach the typical threshold for wheat damage, which is below 24 degrees F for more than two hours for Feekes 6 and 7. However, Carrie Knott, director of the University of Kentucky Research and Education Center, said nearly all her fields at the center have signs of freeze damage.  

 

“Freeze damage does not appear until seven days after the first freeze event,” said Knott, who is a faculty member in the UK College of Agriculture, Food and Environment. “Now is really the earliest time producers would begin to see damage, if there is any.”  

 

The wheat at Princeton was at Feekes 6 and 7, which is the typical growth stage for this time of the year. The fields appeared mostly healthy with a visual inspection, but when Knott dissected the heads, she could see signs of freeze damage. 

 

“The dissected heads at Feekes 7 look white, easily break and feel papery,” Knott said. “They should be a light green, shiny and feel like plastic. Wheat at Feekes 6 had heads that looked like a light brown line with no sign of floral structure. They should be shiny, firm and somewhat transparent.”  

 

While the Princeton wheat damage could be an isolated event, Knott encouraged producers to dissect their wheat heads to check for potential freeze damage to their crop.  

 

When freeze damage occurs at this growth stage, the crop will likely produce another head and recover much of the yield, as long as normal growing conditions hold through harvest. Yield loss may potentially be between 10% to 20% in wheat with freeze damage at Feekes 6 and 7.  

Video: Winter Canola Trial in Mississippi | Can It Work for Double Cropping? | Pioneer Agronomy

Can winter canola open new opportunities for growers in the Mid-South? In this agronomy update from Noxubee County, Mississippi, Pioneer agronomist Gus Eifling shares an early look at a first-year winter canola trial and what farmers are learning from the field.

Planted in late October on 30-inch rows, the crop is now entering the bloom stage and progressing quickly. In this video, we walk through current field conditions, fertility management, and how timing could make this crop a valuable option for double-cropping soybeans or cotton.

If harvest timing lines up with early May, growers may be able to transition directly into another crop during ideal planting windows. Ongoing field trials will help determine whether canola could become a viable rotational option for the region.

Watch for:

How winter canola is performing in its first season in this Mississippi field

Why growers chose 30-inch rows for this trial

What the crop looks like as it moves from bolting into bloom

Fertility strategy, including nitrogen and sulfur applications

How canola harvest timing could enable double-cropping with soybeans or cotton

Upcoming trials comparing soybeans after canola vs. traditional planting

As more growers look for ways to maximize acres and diversify rotations, experiments like this help determine what new crops might fit into existing systems.