The last few days, the weather has given us some dry sunny
weather with high winds. It has been great to have the fields finally dry off and make strides in planting any remaining acres.
Unfortunately, this also exposed young small-grain seedlings to the same
conditions. The daytime heat at the soil surface has caused heat canker. The
tender young tissue at the soil surface has more or less been ‘cooked’, appearing as a yellow band that is slightly constricted (Photo 1). As the leaf elongates, this yellow band (1/8 - 1/4") moves upward and away
from the soil surface. Multiple bands can appear if the hot and dry weather lasts for several days, because of the high
winds, the tips of leaves may break off at the yellow band, giving the field a ragged appearance. Damage from heat canker is temporary and should not
affect further growth and development.
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| Photo 1 – Barley seedlings with the yellow, constricted appearance that is symptomatic for heat canker (photo courtesy of Luke Steinberger) |
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