Wheat Conditions

Wheat in the Oklahoma Panhandle and Southwest Kansas continues in mostly poor condition.  This area is still very short on moisture with yield prospects on average well below 30 bu.  Much of this geography has had about 1 inch total moisture since November 2010.  The wheat crop is starting to joint and this is the growth stage where head size for the wheat plant is determined.  I would still expect that most of this wheat will be harvested, even with yield prospects as low as 10 bu in some cases.  The early planted wheat has aborted tillers with many fields having surviving counts in the range of 5 to 10 tillers per foot of row.  This likely means yields coming in at no better than 20 bu.   The later wheat has not lost tillers but had fewer to start with and it appears that it also will not yield much better than 20 bu on average.  

Currently have Brown Wheat Mites in many moisture stressed fields with moderate leaf damage occuring.  This is a winter pest and they should begin cycling out for the season over the next couple of weeks.  Also have low Cherry Aphid numbers with Greenbugs getting started as well.  Have not seen either of these aphids at levels that would require treatment.  At this time there are no serious foliar leaf diseases.