There are some reports of winter wheat starting to show awns and we are likely only a few days away from heading and then flowering. The current scab risk in North Dakota is greatest for susceptible and very susceptible winter wheat varieties in southwest ND. I would expect scab risk to remain elevated for southwest ND in the coming days and we may see other pockets of scab risk appear with recent rain events. Please continue to use the risk model to assess scab risk as winter wheat starts to flower.

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