Agricultural News
State Wheat Specialist Jeff Edwards Says 2011 Oklahoma Wheat Crop Continues to Need Moisture
Fri, 11 Feb 2011 12:41:23 CST
Oklahoma State University Extension Small Grains Specialist Dr. Jeff Edwards says there may have been some benefit from the snows of the last two weeks to Oklahoma wheat farmers, but many producers in central, west central and southwestern Oklahoma got little snowcover that stayed on the fields and not blowing into the ditches. Wheat producers in almost all of Oklahoma are still looking to the skies for relief in the form of a good rain over the next three to four weeks.
Edwards says that the unusually bitter temperatures of earlier this week will test the winter hardiness of the wheat varieties we are growing in the state and that we may be able to tell as early as this next week what damage may have occurred from the time below zero that many fields endured in the northern half of the state.
He is encouraged by conversations he has had with farmers that have decided to apply nitrogen as a top dressing for the 2011. He says that for every dollar in nitrogen that you apply this spring- the market may reward you with as much as seven to eight dollars in return through improved yields and higher protein.
Likewise, he tells us that the next decision after topdressing and removing cattle because of first hollow stem will be to utilize a fungicide on the 2011 crop. Edwards believes if you have received moisture by that point and crop prospects look good to very good- it will pay to consider using a fungicide in 2011. The window on that application will come mid March through early April on most Oklahoma wheat fields.
You can hear our full conversation with Dr. Edwards by clicking on the LISTEN BAR below. You can also see a brief conversation that we had with Jeff Edwards on our In the Field segment this Saturday morning (February 12) on KWTV News9 in the Oklahoma City area (all of Central and Western Oklahoma)
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