Freeze Damage Images, April 2007
Last updated: May 18, 2007
Freezing temperatures were recorded April 5-10 for most of the state. Lowest temperatures were below 20 degrees F on April 8 for many locations in Kentucky. Temperatures remained cool overall until about April 15 for most of Kentucky.
Photos are in chronological order.
Photo: Bill Bruenig, Wheat Variety Testing
April 12, 2007, Fulton County (southwest corner of Kentucky, borders the Mississippi River and Tennessee): Heads were killed from the freeze. More info at the Wheat Variety Testing Site, 2006-07 Test Photos.
Photo: Bill Bruenig, Wheat Variety Testing
April 12, 2007, Todd County (borders Tennessee): Heads were killed from the freeze. More info at the Wheat Variety Testing Site, 2006-07 Test Photos.
Photo: Bill Bruenig, Wheat Variety Testing
April 12, 2007, Logan County (borders Tennessee): Leaves, growing points were severely damaged from the freeze. More info at the Wheat Variety Testing Site, 2006-07 Test Photos.
April 12, 2007, Woodford County (central Bluegrass area): Freeze damage appears to be minor on this plant. Slight discoloration beneath the node. Field scouted on April 18: Complete loss with faint "silage" odor in the field. Lower stems collapsed and were beginning to decay.
April 12, 2007, Woodford County: Leaf symptoms appeared to be minor at this point.
April 12, 2007, Woodford County: Growing point appears healthy at this point. Some question as to whether the stem beneath the head was discolored. It was hard to tell at the time. April 18: The head was dead and the stem was collapsed and decaying.
April 12, 2007, Woodford County: Growing point appears healthy at this point. The stem beneath the head was starting to collapse and flatten. Round stems are good. Flattened stems mean lodging (falling over will occur). April 18: The stem was collapsed and decaying.
April 16, 2007, Daviess County (borders the Ohio River, about 87 W longititude): Dr. Jim Herbek evaluates wheat freeze damage with farmers and field scouts in Daviess County.
April 16, 2007, Daviess County: Drs. Jim Herbek and Lloyd Murdock evaluating wheat with several farmers and field scouts. What began as a scouting exercise ended as a moment of silence for the wheat crop.
April 16, 2007, Daviess County (borders the Ohio River, about 87 W longititude): The field of wheat had leaf burn symptoms but otherwise appeared healthy from the windshield. Further analysis showed damaged heads and stems. Final recommendation: Salvage crop for silage or destroy. Plant corn or soybeans.
April 16, 2007, Daviess County: Developing head is white. It's dead.
April 17, 2007, Ohio County: Leaf symptoms were evident. The heads were dead and/or stems collapsed. Final recommendation: Salvage current crop for silage or destroy. Plant corn or soybeans.
April 17, 2007, Ohio County (just south of Daviess County): The field of wheat had very minor leaf burn symptoms and appeared very healthy from the windshield. It had great color and minimal leaf damage. Further analysis showed damaged heads and stems. Final recommendation: Salvage crop for silage or destroy. Plant corn or soybeans.
April 17, 2007, Ohio County: Head of wheat taken from the Ohio County wheat field with "minimal" leaf injury. The head is white and flaccid (mushy). It's dead.
April 17, 2007, LaRue County (central Kentucky): Wheat varieties in the Kentucky variety trial displayed different responses to the freeze. This plot of wheat is mostly upright with some leaf burn evident. Variety differences could be maturity, where some varieties may have been a little more advanced in development than others. In general, more developed wheat was damaged more.
April 17, 2007, LaRue County: Wheat varieties in the Kentucky variety trial displayed different responses to the freeze. This plot of wheat is lodged. If enough wheat survived the freeze, then this trial will be taken to yield.
April 17, 2007, LaRue County: Leaf symptoms were similar to the burn seen from other wheat fields. Heads and stems appeared to be healthy at this point. Recommendation: Don't give up just yet... plant your intended corn acres first, then take another look at this wheat.
April 18, 2007, Woodford County: Leaves are burned, heads white, stems weakened. Final recommendation: Salvage crop for silage or destroy. Plant corn or soybeans.
April 18, 2007, Fayette County (central Kentucky): Leaf damage is much more evident. Freeze-damage symptoms are similar to nitrogen burn. Growing point is questionable, stems appear to be strong. Recommendation: Don't give up just yet...
April 18, 2007, Fayette County: Growing point (developing head) as seen through a 20X lens. Very hard to tell if this head is healthy or not. Structure appears to be fine, but the color is questionable. Would like to see a pale green color. White is bad. Is this developing head pale green or white? Waiting a few more days will be helpful to determine if it is alive or dead. April 23, 2007: Most wheat appears to have survived.
April 20, 2007, Taylor County (south-central Kentucky): Leaf symptoms were similar to liquid nitrogen fertilizer burn. Stems beneath the growing point were collapsed. Most heads were white and soft, indicating death.
April 20, 2007, Taylor County: Wheel tracks have wheat that is slightly behind in growth from rest of the field. This wheat may be in a little better shape than the rest of the field. Recommendation for rest of field: Cut it for silage when the weather cooperates.
April 20, 2007, Taylor County: Wheat was severely lodged (fallen over). The growing point appeared healthy in this wheat, but the lodging and stem decay will prevent this field from reaching full yield potential.
April 20, 2007, Taylor County: Wheat head as seen through a 15X lens. The head appears to be pale green and turgid (plump). This wheat still has a chance of making it.
April 20, 2007, Taylor County: Wheat was planted in late November in this field. The wheat was slightly behind wheat in the other Taylor County fields. This field of wheat may make it through. The primary stem may be hurt, but there are about three tillers on all plants that appear to be healthy. This field should be checked after other wheat is harvested for silage.
April 20, 2007, Taylor County: This wheat was planted in December as an after-thought. The farmer was a bit embarrassed to have late-planted wheat so close to a main road. After the freeze, this may be one of the best fields in the county.
Photo: Cam Kenimer, Fulton County ANR Extension Agent
April 24, 2007: Fulton County (western Kentucky, borders Tennessee and Missippi River). Heads are dead.
Photo: Cam Kenimer, Fulton County ANR Extension Agent
April 24, 2007: Fulton County (western Kentucky, borders Tennessee and Mississippi River). Heads are dead.
Photo: Cam Kenimer, Fulton County ANR Extension Agent
April 24, 2007: Fulton County (western Kentucky, borders Tennessee and Mississippi River). Heads are dead.
Photo: Cam Kenimer, Fulton County ANR Extension Agent
April 24, 2007: Fulton County (western Kentucky, borders Tennessee and Mississippi River). Severe leaf burn evident in the leaves.
Photo: Tom Miller, Ballard County Extension and Lincoln Martin, Marshall County Extension
April 24, 2007: Ballard County (borders Ohio R. and Mississippi R.). Wheat head is brown and "mushy." It is dead.
Photo: Tom Miller, Ballard County Extension and Lincoln Martin, Marshall County Extension
April 24, 2007: Ballard County (borders Ohio R. and Mississippi R.). Wheat head is green and healthy. This head is from the same "clump" of wheat as the previous picture.
Photo: Tom Miller, Ballard County Extension and Lincoln Martin, Marshall County Extension
April 24, 2007: Ballard County (borders Ohio R. and Mississippi R.). Wheat head is brown and "mushy." It is dead. This head is from the same "clump" of wheat as the previous two pictures.
Photo: Tom Miller, Ballard County Extension and Lincoln Martin, Marshall County Extension
April 24, 2007: Ballard County (borders Ohio R. and Mississippi R.). Premature head has some green visible. Possibly alive.
Photo: Tom Miller, Ballard County Extension and Lincoln Martin, Marshall County Extension
April 24, 2007: Ballard County (Borders Ohio R. and Mississippi R.)
Photo: Tom Miller, Ballard County Extension and Lincoln Martin, Marshall County Extension
April 24, 2007: Ballard County (Borders Ohio R. and Mississippi R.)
Photo: Andy Mills, Meade County
April 24, 2007: Meade County (Central Kentucky, borders Ohio R.). Tops of wheat in this field were burned and the wheat was beginning to lodge.
April 24, 2007: Meade County (Central Kentucky, borders Ohio R.). Wheat from same field as previous picture. The stems were collapsing and wheat was falling over.
April 24, 2007: Meade County (Central Kentucky, borders Ohio R.). Four varieties of wheat in this field. There is very minor leaf burn on this wheat. At least two varieties have collapsed stems below the first node. They will not make grain yield. One variety appears to have survived. There was probably a slight bit of difference in maturity between the varieties.
April 24, 2007: Meade County (Central Kentucky, borders Ohio R.). The lower stems on several of these plants are damaged, turning brown. These stems will eventually collapse causing the plant to fall over. We expect zero grain yield from these damaged stems.
April 24, 2007: Meade County (Central Kentucky, borders Ohio R.). Damaged stems. A similar set of plants as the previous picture.
Photo: Curt Judy, Todd County Extension
April 24, 2007: Todd County (Southern Kentucky, borders Tennessee.). Severe leaf burn is evident in this field. Wheat is likely lost.
Photo: Curt Judy, Todd County Extension
April 24, 2007: Todd County (Southern Kentucky, borders Tennessee). Wheat field was a loss. Remaining wheat was "burned-down" with Gramoxone herbicide. Corn was planted into this wheat. The tire tracks from the planting are evident in the field.
Photo: Curt Judy, Todd County Extension
April 24, 2007: Todd County (Southern Kentucky, borders Tennessee). Leaf burn is evident from a distance in this field. Wheat will not survive.
Photo: Andy Mills, Meade County Extension
April 24, 2007: Meade County (Central Kentucky, borders Ohio R.). Cut stalks of wheat in half to evaluate nodes and developing heads.
Photo: Andy Mills, Meade County Extension
April 24, 2007: Meade County (Central Kentucky, borders Ohio R.). Some of the main tillers (primary shoots) of wheat were damaged, but other tillers have survived. In these situations, multiple tillers from each plant should be examined. In this field, about 70% of the tillers had a good stem and living growing point.
Photo: Andy Mills, Meade County Extension
April 24, 2007: Meade County (Central Kentucky, borders Ohio R.). While assessing the wheat, I'm thinking about the quality of the stem, the integrity of the developing head and trying to calculate a yield estimate, if I think the wheat will make it that far.
The farmer is trying to figure out how he will feed his cattle, how can he recoup at least part of his investment and how managing this field of wheat now affects everything else that must be done this summer.
Photo: Susan Fox, Lyon County Extension
April 25, 2007: Lyon County (western Kentucky). Severe leaf burn.
Photo: Susan Fox, Lyon County Extension
April 25, 2007: Lyon County (western Kentucky). Leaf burn is easier to see on this bundle.
Photo: Susan Fox, Lyon County Extension
April 25, 2007: Lyon County (western Kentucky). Good image of the ends of the stems. In this bundle, some stems appear healthy while others are showing signs of rot.
April 30, 2007, Woodford County (central Bluegrass area): Two weeks ago, this field had a faint "silage" odor in the field. Lower stems had collapsed and were beginning to decay.
On May 1, this field appears to have made a "Lazarus" in rising from the dead. Closer inspection makes this field appear less miraculous.
April 30, 2007, Woodford County. Closer inspection of the field, the wheat still looks good. But we need to look closer.
April 30, 2007, Woodford County. Closer inspection. This stem appears healthy. Leaf burn is evident beneath the head, which is in the boot stage. Stem needs to be split to know for certain.
April 30, 2007, Woodford County. Closer inspection. Three out of 10 (30%) of heads appear normal from a "clump" of wheat. However, two of those heads are on stems that are compromised and will not hold the head once grain fill occurs.
Two other heads are delayed about a week, if they make it to grain fill. Again, stem integrity is a concern.
This clump was representative of other clumps in the field. We can confidently say that 10% of the heads will make grain.
May 1, 2007, LaRue County: Wheat varieties in Kentucky are displaying more visual damage.
May 1, 2007, LaRue County: Two weeks ago, this field was still in question. After closer inspection, about 20% of the heads might make grain.
May 1, 2007, LaRue County: This head of grain appears picture perfect. Inspection of the florets indicated that the upper half of the head had empty florets. They were not plump. The lower half of the head had florets that were plump. We should have opened the florets to examine the flower structure. It is difficult to tell if the upper half will make grain. We didn't examine this quite close enough.
May 11, 2007: Meade County (Central Kentucky, borders Ohio R.). From the windshield this wheat looks fine. The heads are developing and flowering appears to be progressing without any troubles. Head count was low. We counted about 30 heads per square foot. Ideal head count is 70 heads per sq. ft. and decent yields can be obtained with 50 heads per sq. ft. If everything goes right, acceptable yields can be obtained with 30 heads per sq. ft.
May 11, 2007: Meade County (Central Kentucky, borders Ohio R.). A closer look at the stems from the wheat in the previous picture reveals very poor stem quality. If the wheat heads fill the kernels, then the weight of the heads will cause the stems to fall over. Nearly 90% of the stems with a head of wheat were compromised in this field. This leaves a final stand of about 3 to 6 heads per sq. ft.
May 11, 2007: Meade County (Central Kentucky, borders Ohio R.). The freezing temperatures killed the top of this wheat head, while the lower half appears to be developing properly.
May 11, 2007: Meade County (Central Kentucky, borders Ohio R.). The two heads in this photo did not emerge properly from the sheath. The freeze was the likely cause of this, resulting in some cells of the head and sheath fusing together.
May 11, 2007: Meade County (Central Kentucky, borders Ohio R.). Field looks good from the road, but about 80% of the stems are compromised.
May 11, 2007: Meade County (Central Kentucky, borders Ohio R.). This plant is attempting to send out roots from the node (joint) of wheat. The node is black and the stem beneath the node is brown.
May 16, 2007: Bourbon County (Central Kentucky, borders Fayette County (Lexington)). Heads counts were about 35 heads per sq. ft. in this field. Most of the stems appeared healthy, but some of the heads were small. This field should be in the range of 30 to 40 bu/acre.
May 16, 2007: Bourbon County (Central Kentucky, borders Fayette County (Lexington)). The overall field of wheat appears healthy, but the head counts were low. N deficiency was occurring in stripes in the field. We have seen striping of fields where granular nitrogen (urea) was applied with a spreader truck. We thought the darker stripes were likely the truck path (spreader trucks often put more fertilizer directly behind the truck than to either side). We had a report of the same type of striping occurring in a field where liquid 28% N was applied. Now, we aren't certain what the cause is.
