A hard freeze was predicted for the night of May 7 in parts of Kansas. In such instances at this stage of development, wheat will suffer some injury. The extent of that injury will depend on several factors, said Brian Olson, K-State Northwest Area crops and soils specialist, and Jim Shroyer, K-State Extension agronomist.

A number of factors will determine freeze damage: the stage of development of the wheat, the density of the stand and condition of the plants, the extent and duration of low temperatures, temperature gradients within the field, soil moisture, and the wind speed, Olson and Shroyer said.

The K-State agronomists summarized the effect of these factors:

1. Stage of development. Jointing wheat can usually tolerate temperatures in the mid to upper 20s with no significant injury. But, if temperatures fall into the low 20s or lower for several hours, the lower stems, leaves, or developing head can sustain injury. If the leaves of tillers are yellowish as they emerge from the whorl, this indicates those tillers have been damaged. Existing leaves may also be damaged so severely that they turn bluish, then bleach out. This usually results in the field´s having a "silage smell." At the boot stage, wheat can be injured if temperatures drop into the upper 20s for several hours. There can be damage to the flag leaf, stems, and developing head.

2. Density of the stand and condition of the plants. If the stand is thick, that will tend to reduce the extent of freeze damage. On the other hand, well-fertilized wheat has often sustained more freeze injury than wheat that is not as well fertilized.

3. Extent and duration of low temperatures. It usually takes more than just a momentary dip into the upper 20s to damage wheat in the jointing or boot stages of growth. Significant injury becomes much more likely if temperatures in the damaging range last for two hours or longer.

4. Temperature gradients within the field. Low spots in the field are almost always the first to have freeze injury. The coldest air tends to settle in low areas, especially under calm wind conditions.


6. Wind speed. Windy conditions during nighttime hours when temperatures reach their lows will increase the chance of injury.

7. Tillage system. Wheat tends to suffer more freeze injury in no- till systems where residue covers the soil surface and keeps some of the soil heat from radiating into the plant canopy.

If a freeze occurs, the best thing producers can do for the first few days is to simply walk the fields to observe lodging, crimped stems, and damaged leaves, Olson and Shroyer said.

"Be patient. It will take several days of warm weather to accurately evaluate the extent of damage. After several days, producers should split open some stems and check the developing head. If the head is green or light greenish in color and seems firm, it is probably fine.

If the head is yellowish and mushy, it may have freeze injury," Olson said.

There are also early signs producers might notice right away, the K- State agronomists added.

* Silage smell. If a field of wheat is giving off the aroma of silage, that indicates that leaves have been damaged. Damaged leaves will likely turn black within a few days, then become bleached. If the flag leaf is killed, that tiller won´t produce much, if any, grain. Damage to lower leaves will not have such a drastic effect. Even if the flag leaf on the most advanced tillers is lost, less developed tillers can still come on and produce grain at this point in the season.

* Ice in the stems. If there was ice in the stems below the first node the morning of the freeze, those tillers will probably be damaged (although not always) and may not produce grain.


In the boot stage, the heads will go ahead and emerge even if they are severely freeze damaged, they added. However, that head may be partially damaged or completely dead. If the freeze damage is light to severe, heads may "back out of the boot," Shroyer said.

Producers should remember that even if primary tillers are damaged, less-developed secondary tillers may be fine, Olson said. "If there are enough secondary tillers that survive, these tillers should be able to compensate and keep yield losses to a minimum," he added.

More information on freeze damage to wheat is available in "Spring Freeze

Injury to Kansas Wheat," K-State Research and Extension publication C646, available at county and district Extension offices and on the Web at: http://www.oznet.ksu.edu/library/crpsl2/c646.pdf.