Barley is beginning to emerge from boot in the southernmost regions of Pennsylvania. Be sure to scout for growth stage as there appears to be a good deal of variability across the region. Risk of scab infection is low now, but increasing with climbing humidity and high temperatures in the southwestern part of PA.

Keep a watchful eye on your crop, and if you plan to spray for head scab, target a fungicide application for six days after the barley stems in the field have fully headed. Prosaro, Sphaerex, and Miravis Ace give good control of most leaf and head diseases, in addition to suppressing scab. Spray nozzles should be angled at 30 degrees down from horizontal, toward the grain heads, using forward- and backward mounted nozzles or nozzles with a two directional spray, such as Twinjet nozzles.

Continue to visit wheatscab.psu.edu to use the Fusarium Head Blight Prediction Center for estimating your crop's scab risk.

--Alyssa A. Collins, Associate Professor, Plant Pathology and Environmental Microbiology, The Pennsylvania State University