Leaf tips appear water-soaked and dark green, then dry out and turn brown within a few days. Freezing temperature is most dangerous to wheat and barley when it coincides with tiller elongation, heading, or flowering. Such damage may lead to early tiller maturity, white heads, and new shoot formation at the crown. Flowering grain heads injured from frost may have sterile spikelets that turn white prematurely. See photo 28 .
Leaves injured by spring frost appear at first water-soaked, then dark green.
These injured leaves dry out and quickly turn brown. Frost injured plants quickly recover if the growing point was not exposed to freezing temperatures. Hail Spring wheat and barley plants sustain random physical injury when injured by hail. Injury symptoms from hail appear as shredded leaves, lodged plants, broken heads, and kinked culms. It is common to see bleached spots on plants appearing where immature plant tissue was injured from hail stones.