Wheat nears vulnerable stage for fusarium head blight infections
The Kansas wheat crop will soon be in the heading stage, which
is when wheat becomes most susceptible to Fusarium head blight,
or head scab, said Erick De Wolf, Kansas State University plant
pathologist. FHB was a significant problem on wheat in some
areas of Kansas in 2008. Several factors are important in the
development of FHB, said De Wolf, who is a wheat specialist with
K-State Research and Extension. These include: --Previous crop:
The fungus that causes head scab survives in the residues of
many grass crops. The fungus is also a pathogen of corn and the
most severe disease often occurs when wheat is planted in fields
with large amounts of corn residue left on the soil surface.
--Variety susceptibility: Most wheat varieties grown in Kansas
are susceptible to the head scab, but some varieties are
especially vulnerable to the disease. The varieties Overley,
Jagalene, and 2137 are all highly susceptible to scab. --Weather
conditions: FHB infe