Wheat in Indiana is starting to head out in southern Indiana and flowering will probably start this weekend. During flowering (anthesis) warm, wet weather with high relative humidity will favor the development of Fusarium head blight (scab). Due to the recent cooler conditions, the risk remains low for most of the state with a few pockets that might start to see to medium risk for the next six days in the north west edge of Indiana based on the Fusarium Risk Tool (Figs 1-2.) If you do choose to spray, aim for this early flowering period. Our southern neighbors have started reporting multiple diseases in wheat, such as leaf and strip rust. We have yet to see many samples or reports here in Indiana. There are a number of resources are available to help distinguish wheat leaf diseases, they include the Purdue Wheat Field Guide (https://ag.purdue.edu/agry/dtc/Pages/WheatFG.aspx) and “Identifying Rust[Read More…]
