Wheat – Why Is It Purple?

— Written By and last updated by Elisabeth Purser
en Español / em Português
Español

El inglés es el idioma de control de esta página. En la medida en que haya algún conflicto entre la traducción al inglés y la traducción, el inglés prevalece.

Al hacer clic en el enlace de traducción se activa un servicio de traducción gratuito para convertir la página al español. Al igual que con cualquier traducción por Internet, la conversión no es sensible al contexto y puede que no traduzca el texto en su significado original. NC State Extension no garantiza la exactitud del texto traducido. Por favor, tenga en cuenta que algunas aplicaciones y/o servicios pueden no funcionar como se espera cuando se traducen.


Português

Inglês é o idioma de controle desta página. Na medida que haja algum conflito entre o texto original em Inglês e a tradução, o Inglês prevalece.

Ao clicar no link de tradução, um serviço gratuito de tradução será ativado para converter a página para o Português. Como em qualquer tradução pela internet, a conversão não é sensivel ao contexto e pode não ocorrer a tradução para o significado orginal. O serviço de Extensão da Carolina do Norte (NC State Extension) não garante a exatidão do texto traduzido. Por favor, observe que algumas funções ou serviços podem não funcionar como esperado após a tradução.


English

English is the controlling language of this page. To the extent there is any conflict between the English text and the translation, English controls.

Clicking on the translation link activates a free translation service to convert the page to Spanish. As with any Internet translation, the conversion is not context-sensitive and may not translate the text to its original meaning. NC State Extension does not guarantee the accuracy of the translated text. Please note that some applications and/or services may not function as expected when translated.

Collapse ▲

As you drive down the road, you may notice that the large fields planted in wheat are not green this year, but purple! While this may be pretty to look at – honestly its very photogenic – it is not the best thing for farmers.

Plants, like people, need air to breath. And I don’t just mean air above ground: the roots below ground need air as well. In order for the plant to grow and take up nutrients in the soil, it needs small pockets of air in the soil. These are called pores. Imagine the soil is like a sponge. Over the past few months, we have had a lot of rain, and very few sunny days. This means the soil is like a sponge that is as full of water as you can get. 

Purple Wheat in Field

It’s heavy, dense, and has little air supply. Now imagine you squeeze the excess water out of the sponge, allowing air into the pores. Now it’s a little lighter in your hand, but still pretty damp. When we have had a few dry, sunny or windy days, that is what happens to the soil. Those pores open up, and the plant can breathe.

So, what does this have to do with purple wheat? Well, when plants can’t breathe at their roots, there are symptoms above ground. Drowned roots cause a purple color to show up at the tips of the plant. The good thing is that wheat can bounce back from this. As long as there are some pretty days of nice, sunny weather, the wheat roots will begin to grow again, and that purple color will start to disappear. So next time you notice a wheat field that is purple, you know what it is caused by!