Some Winter Wheat in Kentucky is Already Beginning to Head!

By Carrie Knott

It has been quite a warm winter this year. Most of us enjoyed high temperatures of more than 60°F on Christmas Day. Since December 15, the average temperature across Kentucky has been almost 7°F greater than the 30-year average.

We are not the only ones to ‘notice’ this nice, but atypical weather. Some of the early-planted wheat and even some wheat planted ‘on time’ within the first two to three weeks of October is beginning to head. This is quite concerning given how early in the spring it is.

There is no management practice that we can implement to stop the wheat from heading. However, scouting fields to determine wheat growth stage and knowing the projected low temperatures will be important in understanding the freeze risk this year. At this point, the 10-day projected low temperatures should not cause any injury to the wheat. Even though, there may be snow flurries in the next couple of days, the temperatures are projected to remain above 30°F, the temperature at which 2 or more hours can cause severe damage can occur.

Wheat beginning to head at Princeton KY on April 11, 2020. This wheat was planted Oct 18, 2019.