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