Stripe rust on wheat flag leaf

Diseases in spring wheat are often tricky to predict. Pressure can vary greatly from one region to another, developing throughout the season depending on moisture and weather conditions. While it’s too soon to know which diseases will infect fields during the 2021 growing season, planning ahead can save potential yield in the long run.

When faced with these unpredictable foes, the best defense is always good offense.

1. Manage your risk. Research varieties and consider your fields’ soil type, weather conditions and historical disease pressure. Choosing a high-yielding variety with resistance to your area’s common diseases will help get wheat off to a strong start and pave the way for higher yield potential.
2. Scout early and often. Starting in the early spring, scout regularly and ensure your in-season disease management plan covers the target disease. This field guide from the Pacific Northwest Extension could help you identify and distinguish between common wheat disease threats such as stripe rust, Septoria spot and powdery mildew.
3. Use a quality fungicide. According to the Washington State University Extension, if disease is present and encroaching on economic thresholds (2-5% stripe rust development on susceptible varieties) you should make a fungicide application. Fungicides can be applied at flag leaf timing for a 1-pass program, or, if disease severity dictates multiple treatments, a first application can be made at herbicide timing.

If a fungicide is warranted, we recommend Trivapro® fungicide. With 3 complementary and non-cross-resistant modes of action, Trivapro works harder to provide broad-spectrum preventive and curative disease protection against key foliar wheat diseases. With excellent plant-health benefits, Trivapro helps boost potential yield under high or low disease pressure.

When wheat diseases don’t give you much warning, plan ahead and trust Trivapro to help protect your investment.

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