By Anna Kaminski, Kansas Reflector
TOPEKA — Favorable fall conditions for wheat planting gave way to a warmer-than-usual winter and spring cold snaps, placing Kansas wheat crop in a precarious situation.
Kansas State University experts also warned in a recent memo of disease emerging in wheat fields in nine Kansas counties.
The wheat crop in Kansas is three weeks ahead of a normal schedule, according to Romulo Lollato, a K-State Extension professor of agronomy. He specializes in wheat and forages production and oversees a training program for Ph.D. and master’s degree students.
He told the K-State Extension News Service that freezing or near-freezing temperatures in March and April affected the wheat crop during crucial growth stages, including stem elongation and flowering. Freezes and recent storm-related damage to fields could reduce grain yield, he said.
“In a lot of the state, we’re kind of losing some of those primary tillers because of that cold snap,” Lollato said.
Months before, Lollato had a rosier outlook for this year’s wheat crop. Fair fall planting conditions and adequate moisture established the crop before winter.
“The crop can still recover quite a bit of its performance,” Lollato said. “If we do have cool and moist conditions, we can still have an OK crop.”
But as summer approaches, Kelsey Andersen Onofre, a plant pathologist with the K-State Extension, predicted further obstacles for Kansas wheat growers by way of a pair of viruses that have made their way into a combined nine counties scattered across the state.
Barley yellow dwarf and wheat streak mosaic complex are both transmitted by tiny pests — aphids in the case of barley yellow dwarf and mites in the case of wheat streak mosaic.
Both diseases thrive in warmer temperatures and can cause yield losses.
A recent agronomy update from K-State, co-authored by Andersen Onofre, said viruses that cause wheat streak mosaic do not need an introduction in many parts of Kansas.
“Wheat streak mosaic is one of the most economically devastating wheat diseases in the state,” the update said. “Although statewide levels are lower than in 2025, we are again seeing wheat streak mosaic infections in many fields.”
Kansas Wheat, a consortium of wheat grower groups, predicted in April an early harvest because of drought conditions, which are most severe in western Kansas. Limited soil moisture and advanced crop maturity has made this season’s wheat crop more susceptible to freeze damage and disease concerns, the organization said.
It added: “For many producers, the focus has shifted from maximizing yield to salvaging what remains, as drought continues to define the 2026 growing season.”
