Scab risk for susceptible varieties continues to be elevated for southwest North Dakota, pockets in the eastern third of North Dakota, and areas in northwest Minnesota. This elevated scab risk started to become apparent last week Thursday and has continued into the Fourth of July holiday. These areas with elevated scab risk continue to receive rain (sporadic amounts) with frequent morning dews, which will likely maintain a moderate to high scab risk for susceptible varieties in the coming days. However, scab risk for moderately resistant varieties will likely remain low. The wheat crop in both North Dakota and Minnesota has a wide range of heading and flowering dates this year, due to the wide range of planting dates. Therefore, make sure to actively monitor weather conditions (ie: relative humidity) as the wheat crop begins to head and flower.

Here are some comments pertaining to scab risk in last week’s NDSU Crop and Pest Report: https://www.ndsu.edu/agriculture/sites/default/files/2023-06/8%20June%2…

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