Published: May 30, 2007 11:48 pm         

Worries over wheat cropping up in area

Area farmers are looking for hotter temperatures and drier weather to mature the wheat crop so it can be harvested.

Whether they get what they want remains to be seen.

Mark Hodges, executive director of Oklahoma Wheat Commission, said wheat in the Enid area is probably a week to 10 days from being mature.

The rain we’ve had recently probably hasn’t had too much of an affect wheat quality, he said. That could change if wet conditions continue.

“I wouldn’t get extremely concerned just yet,” he said. “If it stays this way for another week to 10 days, it could be a concern.”

Rain at the wrong time could lower test weights, which affects the quality of the grain harvested, he said. No. 1 grade wheat has a test weight of 60 pounds a bushel, Hodges said, and the denser the kernel, the heavier it is.

Rain, though, will cause the kernel to absorb moisture and swell. When it dries, the kernel won’t shrink, Hodges said, making it less dense and not as heavy.

In the Enid area, the wheat is “not there yet to where it’s hurting test weight,” he said.

Rick Mitchell, chief meteorologist for KOCO TV in Okla-homa City, said rain could be around for a few more days. He said the next day he is forecasting without a chance for rain is Monday. Oklahoma is in what is usually the final weeks of the storm season and the wettest time of year, Mitchell said.

“If it lasted a little longer, it wouldn’t surprise me,” he said.

What happens after this weekend is hard to predict. He said he is not sure the next few days or next couple of weeks will maintain the extremely wet conditions we’ve see the last five days. Right now, computer predictions point to around June 10-17 as when the weather pattern should become drier on a consistent basis, he said.

Recent cool, wet weather has been good for grain fill, Hodges said, but it also has been conducive to diseases and insect problems.

Army worms, which have been feeding on wheat plant heads, have been a problem in Garfield County and other areas recently, he said, forcing producers to spray.

Tim Bartram, executive director of Oklahoma Wheat Growers Association, has seen the same thing.

“It’s getting close to the point of causing some damage,” he said. “I’d say any more (rain) from now on, it will cause problems.”