By MIKE COURSON
Great Bend Post
GREAT BEND — Recent rainfall will help a little but not much.
The state continues to suffer through a drought with now 72 percent of Kansas listed in at least a moderate drought, 57 percent at a severe level, and 32 percent in extreme conditions. Ten percent of the state, mostly in the southwest, is listed at exceptional drought.
Last week, the National Weather Service reported the 1.10 inches of rain in Wichita through July and August were the third-least since 1888. The 1.08 inches during that span in Sedan, located in the southeast part of the state, is the lowest on record. Closer to home, Russell reported 2.10 inches in July and August, the least on record since 1950. Kansas State University's Mesonet reports 12.25 inches of rainfall this year in Great Bend, nine inches shy of normal year. According to agronomists at K-State, before the recent rains, August was the third driest on record behind 2000 and 1913.
The conditions are impacting virtually all plants in the state. Alicia Boor, agriculture and natural resources agent in the Cottonwood District for K-State Research, said trees are usually easy to forget. But try pushing a shovel into the dry dirt, and that's also what trees are up against to survive.
"The root systems, those very end roots that are there as a feed root trying to get the nutrients, it can't push through the soil either," she said. "They tend to die back, compromising the root system and making your tree weaker."
Boor said, like any other plant, trees need water. Keeping trees healthy now can prevent damage even after drought conditions end.
"By watering trees a good 12-18 inches deep in this massive heat, every other week or every three weeks, is a really good way to keep your tree healthy so other things don't come in like borers and diseases," she said. "That can then take out the tree maybe not this year but in a couple years because it's still stressed over what is happening now."
Crops have also been affected by the conditions, especially those not irrigated. Milo and corn are dying in the field, and wheat took a hit but largely survived ahead of the 2022 harvest this summer. Conditions now could have an effect on the 2023 crop.
"This year, one of the issues we're seeing is some milo is not putting heads out," Boor said. "It doesn't have enough water to even get to the stage where it's putting out the seeds the producers can harvest. Other portions, a lot of corn was cut for sileage early because there wasn't enough of an ear to be able to make the bushels of grain they needed."
While plants suffer, certain insects thrive in drought conditions, including aphids and grasshoppers. Boor said the grasshoppers are out there but she's received no complaints about them being worse than usual. Damage from elm leaf beetles has been abundant but can be reduced with proper tree care.
"Elm leaf beetles are a yearly occurrence and this year just seems to be worse," said Boor. "That could be just because there's not as much leaf matter out there. The trees drop what they can't support. In a severe drought, they're not going to push out as many leaves. We're just seeing it look worse. It goes back to keeping them well cared for, then the elm leaf beetle is not as big of a deal."
The bad news: scientists are already warning the drought will likely continue through 2023. "There are a couple different options that might help alleviate it," Boor said, "but most signs are pointing that we're going to stay in this drought for a little bit longer."