ST. JOHN — Drought conditions in central Kansas that have lowered the wheat harvest forecast have had a similar effect on the crop’s biggest issues — disease and pests.
An update at the Stafford County Wheat Tour shows south central Kansas has sustained a tough spring because of persistent drought conditions.
“Drought is the dominant factor,” said Erick DeWolf, KSU Extension plant pathologist. “There is widespread drought conditions in south central Kansas. The last week has aggravated the drought situation. The wheat doesn’t handle heat very well on its own even in the presence of moisture. When the temperature is above 86 degrees, the plant goes backwards. The plant is consuming more food than it can make for itself.”
DeWolf said normal weather conditions – adequate rain and moderate temperatures – will help the wheat harvest exceed expectations.
“It’s too early to count wheat out. It has an amazing ability to produce something. I haven’t given up on the wheat harvest,” DeWolf said. “Factors which would favor yield potential would be additional moisture and cooler temperatures.”
The good news is the worst wheat crop in 13 years hasn’t encountered disease or pests because the drought conditions.
Erick DeWolf, said land surveys in Oklahoma and Texas have indicated little or no diseases.
“There’s been no leaf rust. It’s as clean as I’ve ever seen it,” DeWolf said. “The drought has cut the rest disease because conditions are not good for them to develop.”
Projections for the Kansas hard red winter wheat crop are the poorest in 13 years, according to the annual HRW Wheat Quality Tour. The overall Kansas wheat yield of 33.2 bushels per acre, is below the five-year average of 41.8 bushels per acre. It’s the lowest  estimate since 2001 when it was 32.7 bushels per acre.
Wheat Tour Tour participants projected Kansas wheat production at 260.6 million bushels, which would be the lowest since the 1996 total of 255.2 million bushels.
Jim Shroyer, K-State Extension crop production specialist, headlined the Stafford County Extension Wheat Variety Plot Tour that looked at 28 wheat varieties planted Oct. 11, 2013. Shroyer looks at state-wide production numbers and reviews what seeds have delivered the highest yields. Last year, Everest, Tannahill and WestBred Armour led Kansas wheat production. Different varieties feature resistance to drought, leaf rust, tan spot and ph levels.
“It’s good to have a lot of varieties. It gives the farmers a chance to look and see the up-and-coming varieties that might consider planting next year,” DeWolf said. “They see hand-on experience. They can listen to an expert like Jim Shroyer talk about disease reactions and ph tolerances.”
Virtually all of the wheat test plots exhibited drought effects. The best-looking wheat at the test plot managed by Glenn Newddigger and Mark Ploger was the mix of 28 wheat seeds.
Sarah Zukoff, K-State Extension entomologist, said pests have also been minimized by the lack of moisture. No aphids have been noticed. There have been Hessian flies and brown wheat mites seen.
Zukoff said the brown wheat mites have been building up in the southwestern counties of Kansas the last couple of weeks. Controlling these mites is fairly simple. Brown wheat mite damage can be quite severe when wheat is under drought stress. They can be especially prevalent in continuous wheat or where volunteer wheat was allowed to grow the previous season.
“One thing that really stood out about this crop is the extent of the drought damage. It wasn’t just a portion of the state, or just one region, but rather was affecting the entire crop,” said Justin Gilpin, Kansas Wheat, chief executive officer.
On the third and final day of the tour, participants made fewer stops on their route from Wichita to Kansas City, but still reported seeing drier than normal conditions. Scouts made 45 stops and reported an average estimate of 37.8 bushels per average, significantly lower than last year’s 52.3 bushels per average based on 29 stops.
“There is a lot of poor and fair wheat out there with not enough good to excellent fields,” said Daryl Strouts, Kansas Wheat Alliance director. “If the state does not receive normal to abundant rainfall soon, then the wheat will not even meet its current potential.”