By Scout Nelson
The green‑up of winter wheat and rye fields was uneven last week. This means that some plants have started growing again while others remain dormant. Farmers and agronomists must decide if the existing stands are strong enough to keep or if the field should be replanted.
Winter cereals such as winter wheat, triticale, and rye can suffer from winterkill, but the damage is rarely uniform. Nearby plants may recover at different rates. Trials in Becker and Le Center showed significant winterkill in all three species this year. Even hybrid rye varieties, usually more resilient, displayed notable damage.
During the cold snap from January 17 to 21, soil temperatures at crown depth stayed above 17°F in Crookston and 20°F in Becker. These levels are not lethal for winter cereals. A later brief drops to 5°F occurred in Crookston, but Becker did not experience such lows again, confirming that extreme cold was not the main cause of damage.
Plant crowns need water, oxygen, and stable soil to survive winter. Dry conditions can cause desiccation, and heaving soil may damage roots. The dry autumn and open winter likely caused the winterkill. Damage often appears on knolls or lighter soils, while wheel tracks show better survival under compacted, moister conditions.
The question remains “Should it Stay, or Should it Go”? Spring is ideal for tiller growth, so winter cereals need fewer plants than spring crops to yield well. A stand of 21 to 23 plants per square foot, or about 900,000 to 1,000,000 plants per acre, is sufficient for optimum grain yield.
Research in North Dakota showed that stands as low as 17 plants per square foot can still produce near‑maximum grain yields. For winter wheat, farmers can interseed spring wheat to fill large gaps, though harvest may be more difficult since spring wheat matures later.
If a field is repurposed for forage, oats, barley, or spring wheat can be interseeded to maintain cover and feed supply. This strategy helps salvage production when winterkill leaves too few cereal plants for a full grain harvest, supporting both crop health and economic goals in each season.
Categories: Minnesota, Crops, Wheat, Weather