Scab infection risk is high this week across the entire commonwealth as a result of increased precipitation and humidity. Risk levels subside as the week progresses in the central portion of the state, but remain elevated across the south and to the east and west. Most wheat in the south is now flowering, and if your barley or wheat in high risk areas is heading and approaching flowering, consider a fungicide application when the weather allows. Miravis Ace, Prosaro, Prosaro Pro, and Sphaerex all provide very good scab suppression. The Miravis Ace label allows for earlier application than other fungicides, but *best results are still achieved when application is timed after full heading in barley and flowering in wheat*. If weather conditions prevent fungicide application at ideal timing, an application as soon as conditions allow will still be quite effective in reducing scab and DON production. Follow labels to determine post-harvest interval constraints for the fungicide you choose. Spray nozzles should be angled at 30 deg down from horizontal, toward the grain heads, using forward- and backward-mounted nozzles or nozzles with a two-directional spray, such as Twinjet nozzles. Additionally, a fungicide treatment at heading using any of these products will also give you excellent control of most leaf diseases as well.

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