The focus of the forecasting models is currently on a band of the northern states extending from the South Dakota to New York. Winter wheat in this area will likely be at the flowering stages of growth that are most vulnerable to head blight over the next few weeks. The maps of disease risk indicates that the probability of severe head blight is low for most of this region today. There are some areas of moderate risk in NY and growers in this area should be monitoring the situation more closely.

Tips for using the risk tools:

By default, the maps shows the disease risk for susceptible wheat varieties for today’s date. You can select earlier assessment dates by clicking on the calendar menu at the top of the risk map. Clicking on the map will activate graphs that display a 14-day summary of weather and disease risk for the selected location.

Use the menu button on the upper left to view risk maps for wheat varieties with other levels of genetic resistance to Fusarium head blight. This menu also provides options for viewing additional map features or restricting area displayed to just the major wheat production areas.

Risk maps based on 2, 4 or 6 days of forecasted weather can help users anticipate future trends in disease risk. These maps are available by selecting the 2d, 4d and 6d buttons to the right of the calendar menu.

--Erick DeWolf, Plant Pathologist, Kansas State University