While much of the South Plains and Panhandle has seen storms in recent weeks that brought much-needed rainfall, a report from Texas A&M AgriLife says this has produced mixed results for emerging crops.
According to the Texas Crop and Weather Report, May is typically the wet month that Texas agriculture can rely on, but this spring was above average. Lubbock has recorded 12 inches of precipitation so far this year, 3 inches above this year’s average. Of that, 3.45 centimeters fell in June – about 1.5 centimeters above normal for the month.
“May is normally the wettest month of the year for Texas, but not this wet,” John Nielsen-Gammon said. “We have record warm sea surface temperatures in the Gulf of Mexico for this time of year, so additional moisture has flowed into Texas, meaning greater instability and chances for thunderstorms.”
Nielsen-Gammon, the Texas state climatologist, said while there has been an increase in moisture in parts of the state, other parts of southwestern and far western Texas are still experiencing moderate to extreme drought.
But according to the latest U.S. Drought Monitor report, drought conditions are generally reduced to non-existent in the Panhandle-South Plains region.
Jourdan Bell, a horticulturist with AgriLife Extension in Amarillo, said the recent storms have been a mixed blessing, increasing moisture levels but also causing hail and wind damage to some young crops.
Looking more specifically at the Panhandle, the report states that there is little drought in the eastern and southeastern portions of the Panhandle. However, the western and northwestern areas still lag behind in terms of rainfall.
“Hot, windy conditions followed the precipitation events, which has dried out fields and increased demand for crop water,” Bell said. “So we’re still looking at very dry soil moisture in many areas.”
Here are the summaries for other local areas:
South Plains region
Zero to several inches of rain have been reported across the region, and post-emergence herbicides are now being used on cotton. Due to irregular crop emergence, some cotton producers are having to replant in irrigated and dry areas.
Yields for the irrigated wheat grain crop are reported to be high, and producers are preparing to plant black-eyed peas.
Rolling Plains region
According to the report, the region is experiencing drier conditions in some parts and rain in others. Cotton planting has reportedly been completed, but some areas need to be replanted due to heavy rainfall.
Rain has also delayed the wheat harvest, but the crop is said to have done well and there have been no reports of rust, a fungal disease. Producers in some areas were mowing and baling grass pastures on Bermuda’s coast with above-average yields, and sorghum and corn fields improved as they dried out.
This article originally appeared in Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Texas AgriLife report, experts say recent storms are mixed blessings for agriculture
