The wheat and barley production season is complete and the Fusarium Prediction Center is no longer developing daily maps of disease risk. Most areas of the current risk map are shaded gray, indicating that the crops are well past these critical growth stages for Fusarium infection. Users can access risk maps from earlier in the growing season by selecting the dates of interest from the assessment date calendar. These historical assessments of disease are most accurate for dates matching the time periods when the location crop was at the heading and flowering stages of growth.

--Erick DeWolf, Plant Pathologist, Kansas State University

The wheat and barley production season is drawing to close in many areas of the US. The current Fusarium risk map is focused on area of ND and MN where some late planted fields may still be vulnerable to the disease. Most other areas of the US are well past the critical growth stages or have already been harvested. These areas of the risk map are shaded gray on the risk map.

--Erick DeWolf, Plant Pathologist, Kansas State University

It is only getting hotter and drier across Minnesota. Over half of the state is now in severe drought or worse. Neither the scouts nor I found Fusarium head blight, leaf rust, bacterial leaf streak this past week in either wheat or barley. I was able to find some tan spot here and there in addition to the oddball plant with symptoms of BYDV, loose smut, or wheat stem maggot. The most interesting find was a plant that had formed adventitious roots on the first node as a result of (what looked like ) latent common root rot infection. This is something I had only seen before as a result of temporary flooding (which is the one thing I know for sure the wheat in this field did not suffer through this year)

The first fields winter wheat and rye have been harvested in southern Minnesota. I have not heard any yield reports from commercial fields. A few plots in the winter wheat variety trial near LeCenter passed the 80 bushels/acre mark.

I expect the first spring wheat to be ready in the Crookston area by the first half of next week; another sign that it is extremely dry in the Crookston area.

This was the last small grains pest and disease update for the 2021 season. And while it will likely not be a bountiful harvest, I do wish everyone a safe harvest.

--Jochum Wiersma, Small Grains Specialist, University of Minnesota

It is still hot and dry across much of Minnesota. Weather records are being broken. The first six months of this year have been the second driest at the Northwest Research & Outreach Center since record-keeping began in 1890. Only 1980 was drier.

Needless to say, scouts did not find much of anything in the wheat this past week. They found the oddball plant with symptoms of BYDV, loose smut, or wheat stem maggot. They did not find Fusarium head blight or any of the other economically important diseases. Aphids meanwhile are leaving those fields where the crop is approaching physiological maturity. It appears that only grasshoppers are not vacating the premises just yet.

I expect the first winter wheat and rye fields to get harvested sooner rather than later in the southern half of the state. I will be visiting the on-farm trial locations in the first half of next week and will report my findings in the final update next week.

--Jochum Wiersma, Small Grains Specialist, University of Minnesota

Most of the spring wheat has already flowered and has started the grain filling stages. There are a few fields of durum that are in the flowering stages of development. Currently, scab risk for moderately susceptible and moderately resistant remains low across the entire. There are a few pockets of elevated scab risk for very susceptible varieties. Growers will need to consider agronomic factors and scab risk if a fungicide will be applied on the “late” wheat crop.

--Andrew Friskop, Assistant Professor and Cereal Extension Pathologist, North Dakota State University

I attended small grain plot tours at six locations across the southern half of the state. The wheat across the southern half of Minnesota is now far enough along in the grainfill period that wheat stem maggot and latent infections of common root rot/fusarium crown rot can be found. These are the individual heads that ripen prematurely and then turn completely white while the rest of the crop is still green. The incidence of both was low. Likewise, the scouts and I found loose smut in wheat and barley at low incidence.

The only other fungal disease I found (much to my surprise) was net blotch in a production field of Pinnacle barley near New Ulm. We know that Pinnacle is very susceptible to net blotch but nine days ago - when it reached Feekes growth stage 9 and the grower and I had discussed whether to spray a fungicide - this field was absolutely spotless.

Cereal aphids number remain highest in the west-central portion of Minnesota and the southern/central portion of the Red River Valley. Grasshopper numbers are holding steady but reports of spraying against grasshoppers are reaching my desk.

The immediate weather forecast remains void of any substantial precipitation. That means that the drought will worsen and, depending on the amount of available water left in the soil profile, further stress the crop. Growers have commented to me that even half an inch of precipitation will keep the soil surface noticeable wet for mere hours.

Henceforth, my recommendation remains the same as it was last week: there is little reason to apply a fungicide to suppress FHB and/or control the leaf diseases.

Meanwhile, I do ask you to continue scout for aphids and grasshoppers as the scouts found that week-over-week incidence of aphids and grasshoppers increased again across all of Minnesota. Apply an insecticide as soon you find one or more aphids on 80% of the individual stems across the field. However, do not apply an insecticide after the crop reaches anthesis nor not apply an insecticide if you expect the field to yield less than the level of crop insurance coverage elected times your APH yield.

--Jochum Wiersma, Small Grains Specialist, University of Minnesota

The Fusarium Head Blight Prediction Center is scheduled for maintenance tomorrow, June 21, at 11:00am (Eastern Time). As a result, the disease risk maps will be unavailable for several hours. Please plan to access the information prior to the maintenance or after the planned service interruption.

--Erick DeWolf, Plant Pathologist, Kansas State University

The spring wheat crop is at heading to flowering stages across much of the state and the barley crop is at heading stages. Scab risk remains low across the entire state. Over the last ten days, a few precipitation events have occurred, but hot and dry weather has preceded or followed precipitation events. The lack of morning dews, hot weather, and infrequent precipitation will likely keep scab risk low for the immediate future. Given the variability in growth stages of the small grain crops, please continue to monitor field conditions and use the disease forecasting model to gauge scab risk.

--Andrew Friskop, Assistant Professor and Cereal Extension Pathologist, North Dakota State University

The forecast calls for scattered showers and thunderstorms and half an inch of precipitation across much of Minnesota early Sunday.

The disease risk model Fusarium head blight remained low over the past few days and is almost certain to remain low until at least the middle, if not the end, of next week. Likewise, the risk for tan spot, leaf rust, and Septoria to develop will also remain low. It will take more rain events and higher dew points for fungal diseases to have a chance to develop.

At this point, there is little reason to apply a fungicide to suppress FHB and/or control the leaf diseases.

Meanwhile, I do ask you to continue scout for aphids and grasshoppers as the scouts found that week-over-week incidence of aphids and grasshoppers increased again across all of Minnesota. Apply an insecticide as soon you find one or more aphids on 80% of the individual stems across the field. Do not apply an insecticide after the crop reaches anthesis.

--Jochum Wiersma, Small Grains Specialist, University of Minnesota

Welcome to the 2021 Fusarium Head Blight Prediction Center. The Prediction Center was renovated this past year and you may need to refresh your web browser to enjoy some of the new features. Please take a few minutes to familiarize yourself with the locations of help documents (“?” Button), assessment date selection calendar, and model selection tools (menu button in the upper left). You can also read state or regional commentary by selecting the buttons with various state abbreviations (i.e. ND = North Dakota).

The Prediction Center is currently focused on wheat in SD, ND, and MN. Commentary from these states indicate that lack of rain in this area is holding the risk for disease in check for now. Currently, the risk maps indicate the risk is low risk for most of the northern US. Growers in these areas should check the growth stage of their crop and consult local advisors for additional information about the risk of disease in their area.

--Erick DeWolf, Plant Pathologist, Kansas State University