Welcome to the Fusarium Head Blight Prediction Center, 2020. The system has undergone some revisions this year. The new interface focuses on the map-based risk of disease for the current date. Users can select other dates of interest from the menu in the upper portion of the interface. The date selected should correspond to times when your wheat is flowering, because the crop is most susceptible to infection at this stage. There is also a menu icon in the upper left corner that allows users to customize the model predictions for winter vs. spring wheat, and account for wheat varieties with different levels of genetic resistance to Fusarium head blight.

The focus of the prediction effort is currently on Northern South Dakota, Southern North Dakota, Central Minnesota, Wisconsin and the “thumb” area of Michigan where winter wheat is likely at the heading and flowering stages of growth. The models indicate a moderate or high level of risk for susceptible wheat varieties in portions of South Dakota, and North Dakota. Growers in these areas should consult with local advisors to determine what other local factors that might also influence the risk of disease.

--Erick De Wolf, Department of Plant Pathology, Kansas 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