Wet Feet in Wheat

May 06, 2019

By Jonathan Kleinjan

Given the widespread wet conditions present this spring, there are many areas in winter wheat fields with both ponding and saturated (or waterlogged) soils. Like many crops, winter wheat can survive about 3-4 days underwater as long as there are some leaves showing. Cooler conditions may increase survivability as plant respiration is occurring at a slower rate.

Flooding or waterlogging causes oxygen in the root zone to be rapidly depleted, and the ensuing deficiency of oxygen affects several plant physiological processes. Furthermore, waterlogging impairs nitrogen uptake and also increases the probability of denitrification and leaching.

How Will it Affect Yield?

Even though plants may survive a flooding event, some research suggests that waterlogging for as little as 24-48 hours may reduce grain yields. In contrast, another study noticed no yield penalty after four days of waterlogging. Why the differences? Not all studies were performed at the same growth stage or in the same environment. However, all agree that waterlogging will affect plant growth and yield more at early vegetative growth stages than at later vegetative and reproductive growth stages. Extended periods of waterlogging (10 days or more), no matter the growth stage, show yield losses of 20 to 50 percent.

Some varieties of wheat have the ability to develop adventitious roots (similar to brace roots in corn) that serve as the functioning root system when growth of the seminal roots is restricted due to saturated soils. While adventitious roots may help a plant survive for a short period of time, their growth is limited and the wheat plant will eventually suffer if the waterlogged conditions persist.

Considerations Moving Forward

Producers may want to consider soil conditions and evaluate extended weather forecasts when deciding whether or not to retain a winter wheat this spring. Some research suggests that a rescue application of nitrogen may help to speed crop recovery once waterlogged conditions have abated. However, this will not work if: 1. waterlogged conditions return or; 2. Wheat plants have been injured beyond the point of recovery. As always, stand counts and an assessment of plant health can aid producers in making informed decisions. Instructions for winter wheat assessment can be found in the article “Winter Survival and Spring Stand Counts in Winter Wheat.”

Source:sdstate.edu

Video: Spring 2026 weather outlook for Wisconsin; What an early-arriving El Niño could mean

Northeast Wisconsin is a small corner of the world, but our weather is still affected by what happens across the globe.

That includes in the equatorial Pacific, where changes between El Niño and La Niña play a role in the weather here -- and boy, have there been some abrupt changes as of late.

El Niño and La Niña are the two phases of what is collectively known as the El Niño Southern Oscillation, or ENSO for short. These are the swings back and forth from unusually warm to unusually cold sea surface temperatures in the Pacific Ocean along the equator.

Since this past September, we have been in a weak La Niña, which means water temperatures near the Eastern Pacific equator have been cooler than usual. That's where we're at right now.

Even last fall, the long-term outlook suggested a return to neutral conditions by spring and potentially El Niño conditions by summer.

But there are some signs this may be happening faster than usual, which could accelerate the onset of El Niño.

Over the last few weeks, unusually strong bursts of westerly winds farther west in the Pacific -- where sea surface temperatures are warmer than average -- have been observed. There is a chance that this could accelerate the warming of those eastern Pacific waters and potentially push us into El Niño sooner than usual.

If we do enter El Nino by spring -- which we'll define as the period of March, April and May -- there are some long-term correlations with our weather here in Northeast Wisconsin.

Looking at a map of anomalously warm weather, most of the upper Great Lakes doesn't show a strong correlation, but in general, the northern tiers of the United States do tend to lean to that direction.

The stronger correlation is with precipitation. El Niño conditions in spring have historically come with a higher risk of very dry weather over that time frame, so this will definitely be a transition we'll have to watch closely as we move out of winter.