Soil Temperature

Year to year climate variability is an unavoidable issue for agriculture in Nebraska. Since agricultural practices rely heavily on climatic conditions, it is risky to make certain agricultural management decisions based on the calendar date. One such decision is when to plant agronomic and horticulture crops.
To ensure better germination, one of the key factors to consider is optimum soil temperature. Regardless of the climate zone or year, seeds require optimum soil temperatures to germinate and sustain early development. Farmers who plant before optimum temperatures are reached risk productivity loss due to seed death or poor germination, and limited initial growth that might occur because of the lower soil temperature.