Spring Freeze May Have Damaged Winter Wheat Crop

(AP) – A spring freeze has raised fears about possible damage to the Kansas winter wheat crop.

It is still too early to tell, but experts say they do not expect the same widespread freeze damage that devastated the state’s 2007 wheat crop. Temperatures dipped below freezing Monday night across much of Kansas.

Kansas State University Extension wheat specialist Jim Shroyer says damage will likely not be as bad as the Easter freeze of 2007 because the wheat crop is not as mature. More of the tillers that eventually form the wheat grain heads are still safely below ground.

Temperatures also did not stay below freezing as long. The 2007 Easter weekend freeze lasted two to three days, rather than just a few hours.