Reports of yellowing in small grains have started to reach me. There are several reasons why young wheat, barley, or oat plants have a pale green/yellow color. Some of the more common causes of early season yellowing are:
Nitrogen deficiencySulfur deficiencyEarly tan spot infectionsHerbicide injuryBarley yellow dwarf virus (BYDV) infections Nitrogen deficiency Nitrogen (N) deficiencies can readily be identified as the symptoms are worst on the oldest leaves and start at the tip of the leaves, progressing towards the base as the deficiency gets worse. The causes of the N deficiencies are several, all which have common denominator, namely excess precipitation. Excessive rainfall causes leaching, denitrification, and an inability of the plants to take up available N.
Leaching is a potential problem in coarser textured soils. Saturated soils/standing water will cause both denitrification and inability to take up available N. Denitrification is a microbial process and slows down considerabl…
Nitrogen deficiencySulfur deficiencyEarly tan spot infectionsHerbicide injuryBarley yellow dwarf virus (BYDV) infections Nitrogen deficiency Nitrogen (N) deficiencies can readily be identified as the symptoms are worst on the oldest leaves and start at the tip of the leaves, progressing towards the base as the deficiency gets worse. The causes of the N deficiencies are several, all which have common denominator, namely excess precipitation. Excessive rainfall causes leaching, denitrification, and an inability of the plants to take up available N.
Leaching is a potential problem in coarser textured soils. Saturated soils/standing water will cause both denitrification and inability to take up available N. Denitrification is a microbial process and slows down considerabl…