If you have a small grain crop nearing heading, it’s time to keep an eye on the risk of Fusarium head blight (scab). Scab risk in North Carolina and surrounding states is low for fields flowering now, and the forecast is mostly dry, so risk will remain low for crops heading and flowering in the next 7-10 days. To monitor risk, go to the web site wheatscab.psu.edu. In the upper left corner, the plus key lets you zoom in. Just above it, clicking on the square allows you to choose the level of resistance of your wheat variety. If you don’t know it, assume it is susceptible.

The risk of a severe scab epidemic is given as low (green), medium (yellow), or high (red) for a given area on the map. Risk is always for the assessment date given at the top of the map. The map always “wakes up” with today’s date; you can manually change the date to previous dates if desired. The map is showing you the risk for a wheat crop flowering on that date. Wheat is vulnerable to scab when it is flowering, and barley is vulnerable when heads emerge from the boot. A fungicide targeting scab is only recommended when risk is medium or high at the time your wheat is flowering, or your barley is emerging from the boot.

-- Christina Cowger, Small Grains Pathologist, USDA-ARS and North Carolina State University

For more details, go to the FHB Risk assessment tool at http://www.wheatscab.psu.edu

For the latest news and updates from the U.S. Wheat & Barley Scab Initiative, go to https://www.scabusa.org