Praising the Lord for some rain! It’s incredible how quickly planting occurs and how much is done. This past week was mostly spent looking at frost damage to wheat, rye, oat, and cover crop forages. Frost damage is worse in fields that are drought and/or moisture stressed and those that have poor stands and/or a poor canopy.

• At 24°F for two hours during jointing in wheat can cause leaf yellowing/burning, death of the growing point, and splitting or bending of the lower stem.
• At 28°F for two hours during boot in wheat can cause the florets to be sterile, heads to be trapped in the boot, damage to the lower stem, leaf discoloration/burning, and odor.

What I’m looking for in the fields: Look for any new growth from the main stem and tillers in the small grains. Split some stems and look to make sure the growing point with the developing head is yellow-green and firm, not brownish and mushy. The good news is that while one tiller may be injured, others on the plant may be ok. The mixture of normal and late tillers can cause uneven maturity though and potential grain yield reduction. Also notice the stem nodes. I have seen even in the better areas of some fields, if the wheat was fairly tall, that some of the lower stem nodes are becoming discolored and splitting. This can cause those tillers to fall over. Those tillers can still provide some nutrient transport to the head, but the lodging can be a pain at harvest and yield reduction will occur. For more information, the following is an article from 2020, but the info. on damage and what to look for is still relevant: https://go.unl.edu/2h7z.

Looking at the week ahead, for those who are planting, be aware of planting windows. We have some cold nights coming after some cold rains this weekend where soil temps have dropped. We say to avoid planting corn 48 hours before a cold snap and soybeans 24 hours before a cold snap. That’s assuming the seed is planted into moisture and begins the germination process. Corn seed needs to absorb 35% of its weight in water and soybean seed needs to absorb 50% of its weight in water in order to complete the initial imbibition (water uptake phase) and be capable of withstanding drops in soil temperatures after that.

Drone Dispatch: Dirk Charlson, our Extension Educator for Digital and Precision Ag, is releasing a newsletter called the Drone Dispatch. Published on the first Tuesday of each month, this newsletter is a product of Nebraska Extension, created to support producers, professionals, and communities using unmanned aerial systems (UAS). Across Nebraska, drones are already transforming agriculture, infrastructure, and emergency response. With that growth comes both opportunity and responsibility and this newsletter is here to help you navigate both. Let’s fly safe, fly smart, and keep Nebraska on the leading edge of drone innovation. If you would like to subscribe to The Nebraska Drone Dispatch, suggest a story or upcoming event, or would like your business or organization featured, please complete the contact from at go.unl.edu/TheNEDroneDispatch.

Forage Resources for Drought and Wildfire: We continue to hear of the need for forage resources between the drought and wildfire impacted areas in Western Nebraska. If you have available pasture and/or cover crop or other forages that you’re willing to custom graze cattle on, please list those resources on both of these places: https://www.pasturematch.com/ and https://nebraskagrazingexchange.com/.

UNL Agronomy/Horticulture Retirements will be celebrated on May 8th with a reception from 2-4 p.m. at the Goodding Learning Center, Plant Sciences Hall at UNL East Campus. Rhae Drijber retires June 30 after 32 years of service. Daren Redfearn retires May 6 after 12 years and Jerry Volesky retires June 30 after 31 years of service to the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. The online guestbooks can be signed at:
https://go.unl.edu/redfearn-retire
https://go.unl.edu/drijber-retire
https://go.unl.edu/volesky-retire