CropTalk Meeting With Samuel Mwangi
A warm fall and winter have many Kansas wheat fields looking “extra growthy,” but that does not necessarily mean the crop is in trouble, according to a Kansas State University wheat expert.
K-State wheat breeder Allan Fritz discussed current wheat conditions during a recent CropTalk webinar. He explained that winter wheat must go through a cold period called vernalization before it can shift from leaf growth to producing a grain head.
Vernalization can begin as soon as a seed absorbs water, Fritz said, even before the plant emerges from the soil. While some wheat fields may look brown or burned back after cold weather, that does not automatically mean yield has been lost.
“Ugly wheat doesn’t equal dead wheat,” Fritz said during the presentation, explaining that plants can recover if the growing point and main tillers remain alive.
Senior agricultural business major Cav Carlgren said the webinar helped him better understand how winter wheat develops.
“Vernalization is basically wheat going into hibernation to accelerate growing in the spring,” Carlgren said. He added that appearance alone does not determine whether a field will recover. “Ugly wheat can be saved. Dead wheat can’t.”
Carlgren also noted that environmental stress can affect yields.
“Hotter temps and more water equals more transpiration and sweating to survive,” he said. “That means less time to photosynthesize, which can hurt potential yields.”
The presentation also covered wheat streak mosaic virus, a disease spread by wheat curl mites. Fritz said controlling volunteer wheat is one of the most important steps to prevent the virus from spreading.
Freshman agricultural business major Tag Martin said the presentation changed how he viewed crop growth.
“Before this I didn’t know crops needed to grow in the winter or hibernate,” Martin said. “I thought you would grow them in the spring and harvest them in the fall.”
Martin said he also learned about resistant wheat varieties, field management and the importance of community coordination to control volunteer wheat.
Article by Drew Lodice - Kansas State News, undergrad