The Oregon Department of Agriculture and Oregon State University are investigating the yellowing of upward of 40,000 acres of wheat in Umatilla and Morrow counties. So far, the cause is a mystery, and researchers do not know if the problems in the two counties are related.
"There's probably more than one thing going on in these particular fields, like in any field," he said.
OSU Morrow County Extension associate professor Larry Lutcher said 30,000 to 40,000 acres of wheat in his county have plants with yellow or purple tips. The discoloration spreads inward and downward on the leaf. In some cases, plants are completely desiccated and will not recover.
The symptoms have been observed in many fields in the county, Lutcher said, but do not appear tied to any particular location.
"Most of the symptoms in Morrow County are unlike anything I have ever seen," Lutcher said.
"This does appear to be a new problem -- a problem that no one seems to have experience with," he said.
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