SA's croppers have been left lamenting what could have been after a series of frosts wreaked havoc on bumper crops in the Mid North, northern Mallee, northern Flinders and Eyre Peninsula.
Mid North consultant Jeff Braun, Agrilink Agricultural Consultants, said damage was varied but most evident in early-sown regions.
"The areas that seem to have been hit hardest at this stage seem to be the northern agricultural areas - the northern Flinders/Mid North, the flats up around Port Pirie - but out in the northern Mallee there were some severe frosts as well," he said.
Grain Producers SA chairman Garry Hansen is hoping to get a detailed update of the frost damage when the GPSA board meets tomorrow, but he expects reports of damage on the EP after forecasts of freezing nights in the past fortnight.
Mr Braun said the worst of the frosts in his area came about two weeks ago when the mercury dipped below zero overnight for several consecutive days.
"A lot of the frosts we had were -2 degrees to -4C and I've heard reports from around Jamestown saying someone saw it get down to -10C on the car thermometer one night," he said.
"With most people taking the opportunity to sow early this year, and plant growth being accelerated because of warm conditions early, it's put many crops at a more susceptible stage earlier than what they'd normally be.
"Cereal crops in particular are very sensitive once they come out in head, and some of those earlier areas have plenty of crops out in head. This, combined with the temperatures we saw - and the consecutive events - can produce very damaging frost events."
Mr Hansen agreed that the early cropping start had left more crops vulnerable at this time of year, and said stem frost had been more prevalent than usual.
"Apart from the South East, I think everyone would've got their crops sown in record or near-record time," he said.
"Bad frosts when the plants are sending their heads up can result in stem frost, and I know some lupins and cereals have been affected by this."
Mr Braun said damage was not restricted to cereal crops.
"There's definitely been some damage to beans up in some of the more frosty areas where they were sown early," he said.
"The stem on them has actually frozen and kinked over, so they will have to reshoot from the base or rely on later branches for yield now. Some canola and early pulse crops have had flowers aborted by the frost, but the indeterminate flowering nature of legumes and canola is that they can compensate for that providing they've got adequate moisture."
He said mild frosts could help build a limited amount of tolerance in the plant, but conditions were too harsh for that to help the plant this year.
"I believe people who have identified severe frost damage in their cereals should be doing a fair bit of hay cutting really."
* Full report in Stock Journal, August 21, 2014 issue.
Jacinta Rose
Stock Journal's online editor.
Stock Journal's online editor.
