By KARI KRAMER | East Texas Edition

Long-time wheat producer Wayne Burns feels this year’s crop will be categorized as ‘mediocre,’ thanks to Mother Nature. The farmer’s crop, as well as others in the region, have experienced too warm temperatures early in the growth stage, and there’s been disease pressure in the area. -- Staff photos by Kramer

May 18, 2006 - Fannin County wheat grower Wayne Burns said the current growing season will probably produce what he would consider a “mediocre” year. 

According to Dr. Gaylon Morgan, a small grains specialist with Texas Cooperative Extension, “mediocre” is better than many can hope for.

Morgan, who recently spoke at a wheat producers field day in Prosper, said there are several details that have complicated the current season for wheat growers. Delayed planting, delayed emergence and limited factors are blamed for a host of poor consequences that Northeast Texas growers are being forced to deal with.

Burns, who has been growing wheat for 45 years, has spent the last few months fussing it out with Mother Nature. Throughout the end of last year he planted 2,800 acres of wheat stretching from Bailey to Whitewright. Burns planted both Crawford and Pioneer varieties of wheat. 

After planting 1,500 acres early in the season, disease pressure, “mostly leaf rust in this area,” concerned Burns, and he sprayed. (The Crawford is leaf rust resistant, but Pioneer is not). Minus some negative effects from scattered powdery mildew, “it looks pretty good,” said Burns in mid-May. He planned to harvest the crop in early June.

Disease pressure from leaf rust was a concern for many throughout the area, according to Morgan. 

“Varieties that were resistant last year are pretty susceptible this year,” he explained. “We’re getting rust over wintering.

“Fungicides are preferably a last option due to the cost,” he said, but noted in study trials this year, they had to be used.

“Usually a fungicide under heavy disease pressure will pay for itself,” he said, as long as the producer is planning to harvest at least 40 bushels per acre. 

In some trials, the wheat crop was sprayed twice, a costly practice that yielded positive results. In some cases the extra application increased harvests by 10 bushels per acre.

Still, for most producers under normal disease pressure, Morgan said applying fungicides may not always be necessary.

“If you know the variety has good resistance, don’t waste your money on fungicides.”

Besides diseases, irregular weather patterns caused serious problems for crops. Burns and Morgan both credited a great deal of problems with area wheat crops to high temperatures and limited moisture. 

The warmer-than-average winter has been an obvious factor, but until yields are recorded, Morgan said it has been difficult to fully measure the effects.

“We’re not sure what impact that will have on the wheat crop,” he said, but added that high heat can affect a crop just as negatively as a freeze.

He cited a study from College Station that found just one day during the winter season with temperatures over 90 degrees can decrease wheat yields. In addition, at temperatures above 86 degrees, wheat stops producing sugar.

Varieties of winter wheat each require different vernalization rates. Vernalization occurs at temperatures between approximately 32 and 45 degrees Fahrenheit, according to information from Morgan. Some wheat many only require five cumulative days of vernalization (a total of 120 hours at temperatures in the adequate range), while others require more than 1,000 hours at those temperatures. During a mild winter, temperatures are rarely favorable for vernalization.

Morgan said some areas of the region received only 90 hours of vernalization, well below what the crops require. Plants that failed to vernalize will not enter the reproductive stage and will not produce a seed head. That plant is done for the season. “It’s going to basically die down,” he explained.

Burns said he planted 1,300 acres late in the season and only 20 to 30 percent of that crop successfully vernalized. Again, Burns cited the high temperatures and low moisture levels.

“It was just weather related,” he explained. “After planting we didn’t get any rain to bring it up, it was just too late.”

The lower yields this year will likely have an effect on those needing seed later, according to Morgan.

“I think seed availability is going to be an issue,” he said. That, he added, will bring additional concerns to the table.

First, he said producers considering retaining seed for the next planting will have to plan ahead. Morgan said seed from fields treated with RoundUp may have germination problems and that seed should be tested before use. He suggested examining the seed quality, even if just for forage. In fact, Morgan said seed quality affects forage yields more than grain yields.

Burns, who is not planning on retaining any of his seed for next year, will have to purchase seed elsewhere. To Burns and others like him, Morgan suggested being cautious.

“With a short supply, they’ll probably be some people trying to sell seed who shouldn’t be,” he explained, and added that many of these types of sellers could be violating the Plant Variety Protection Act.

Once he has the seed, Burns said he plans to use a planting schedule similar to this year’s, but hopes for better weather the next time around.

“I was needing some more rain, but didn’t need any of that hail with it,” he said. (On May 9, a rain and hail storm passed through his Whitewright fields).

Still, even without rain, Burns is hoping to make out alright on the current crop.

“I think the 1,500 acres of wheat I got up early is going to make a good crop,” he said. “The wheat that was planted late is what we’re going to be in trouble with.”