Concerns for Southern Plains Winter Wheat

This weekend’s temperatures might cause some headaches with Southern Plains wheat growers with their earlier-than-normal maturing winter wheat. USDA Meteorologist Brad Rippey says for this weekend
Rippey: “At this point we are looking at temperatures that could dip down to the lower or mid-20s across the Southern half of the Great Plains which puts it very close to a threshold that for jointing winter wheat could be a concern. If the temperatures would dip into the teens for a period of two hours or longer, that would pose a freeze injury threat to a portion of the crop. ”
Another concern for that region’s growers is developing dryness for their winter wheat crop. The top soil is showing dryness as of surveys of earlier this week.
Rippey: “We are up to 40 percent very short to short in Oklahoma, 37 percent in Kansas, 33 percent statewide in Texas with the greatest concentration of that dryness in the Western part of the state.
He says that despite the dryness|
Rippey: “The wheat crop seems to be holding on. For one we have good sub-soil moisture across most of the region but we have seen some declines in recent weeks, especially in Texas.”
In Oklahoma 67 percent of the winter wheat crop is rated good to excellent. In Kanas it is 56 percent good to excellent and in Texas it is 46 percent. All of these areas will need to see some moisture soon and there are patchy rain showers are forecast for some of the region.