Understanding the Risk for a Fusarium Head Blight Epidemic in
Wheat July 9, 2009 6:12 PM by Dr. Charla Hollingsworth, U of MN
Extension Plant Pathologist Crop growth stages of spring wheat
are rapidly approaching early flower in some locations. This is
the time of year that managers must make a decision to apply a
fungicide application targeted for Fusarium head blight (FHB)
management. What's happened in other states? This year FHB has
been a production issue across many winter wheat producing
states. The disease has been reported from areas of Arkansas,
Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland,
Missouri, Nebraska, North Carolina and Virginia at various
levels for incidence and severity. The Fusarium fungus is adept
at colonizing corn, wheat, and barley residues. During the
growing season it produces spores from these plant materials
which are either rain splashed or wind-blown to local or
regional plant hosts. If our weather conditions disease
development when wheat is at a susceptible growth