Cold endangers wheat crop

Area crops are being hit hard by a recent cold snap. Overnight temperatures Monday were projected to dip below freezing for the sixth consecutive night before finally warming up mid-day today.

Sunday morning's low of 18 degrees broke a 34-year-old record of 27 degrees. Monday morning's low of 22 degrees broke a 6-year-old record.

Wheat will be the crop most affected by the cold weather in Southeast Missouri, says Gerald Bryan, an agronomist with the University of Missouri Extension Service in Jackson.

The situation, he said, looks "dire."

"When the temperature gets down in the mid-20s, you start seeing damage on potential wheat heads," he said. As the temperature drops more, smaller parts of the wheat plants lower in the stem start sustaining damage, he said.

Some of the wheat in Southeast Missouri is at the flag leaf stage, meaning the seed head is ready to pop out, Bryan said. "Those are probably all destroyed."

Because warm March weather encouraged faster growth, wheat heads may be 6 to 8 inches above ground and particularly susceptible to cold, he said.

Bryan said 2007 is an unlucky year for Missouri wheat crops to be harmed because many farmers are relying heavily on the high prices being projected for wheat.

Wheat prices in 2006 were generally about $3.40 per bushel. This year the projected price is $4.40 or more per bushel. Scarcity caused by the freeze could drive those prices higher still. "The markets are starting to jump for wheat," Bryan said.

Bryan said a good harvest would net farmers up to 70 bushels per acre. This year, he said, they'll be lucky to get half that number.

Amateur gardeners are also feeling pinched by the weather. "Anything that's an annual in the ground and not protected is probably dead," said Gayla Gunter of the Cape County Master Gardeners. "Something like a geranium or a petunia wouldn't stand much of a chance at those temperatures."

Denise Pingel, greenhouse manager at Southeast Missouri State University, agrees. Though the greenhouse has been doing good business selling plants, she has cautioned buyers to wait until April 21 or 22 to plant.

"People who put things in the ground already probably jumped the gun because it was so warm in March," she said.

For more delicate plants like zinnias, Pingel recommends more caution. "We're telling people to wait until May for those. That's our opinion," she said.

The Master Gardners are holding a spring flower sale from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. Friday and from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday in the Conservation Shelter at Arena Park.

Roger Schwab of Jackson has been farming for 32 years and says he still doesn't know how to determine whether wheat has been damaged by the cold. "I don't remember it being an issue. I can't remember ever having wheat damaged by cold weather before," he said.

Schwab planted 350 acres of wheat, most of which he pre-sold for $4.70 per bushel. He said the next two to three days will be crucial in determining the viability of the crop.

"I'm very anxious to see what happens ... I'll look at it midweek, and I'll probably have Gerald [Bryan] come out and look at it. He knows more about it than I do," Schwab said.

To determine the health of a wheat plant, a grower must make a longitudinal cut through the stem. If the developing "spike" inside is white or green, it is still alive, but if the spike is dark or mushy to the touch, it is dead, according to Bryan.

Other Southeast Missouri crops affected by the late freeze include alfalfa and early growing corn.

tgreaney@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 245