Even with Fusarium grasswhich has appeared on every continent except Antarctica, there is the potential to introduce new genetic material into the environment that may exist in other countries but not the United States and could have harmful effects on crops.
How are you coping Fusarium grass infections?
Fusarium grass infections usually occur during the flowering stage of the plant or during more frequent periods of rain and frost. high humidity in the early stages of grain production.
How Fusarium grass the risk progressed in 2025. Yellow is low risk, orange is medium risk, red is high risk. Fusarium Risk Tool/Pennsylvania State
Wheat in the southern United States is vulnerable to infection in the spring. As the season progresses, scab risk progresses north across the US and Canada as crops mature throughout the region, with continued periods of favorable weather throughout the summer.
Between seasons Fusarium grass Survives on crop residues of barley, wheat and corn that remain in the field after harvest. Reproduces by producing microscopic spores that then you can travel long distances on wind currents, spreading the fungus over large geographic areas each season.
For wheat and barley, farmers can suppress damage by spraying a fungicide on developing wheat ears when they are most susceptible to infection. Application of fungicide may reduce scab and its severityimprove grain weight and reduce mycotoxin contamination.
However, integrated approaches to plant disease management are generally ideal, including planting scab-resistant varieties of barley or wheat, as well as using carefully timed fungicide applications, crop rotation and post-harvest tillage to reduce residues where Fusarium grass will be able to survive the winter.
Although applying fungicides can be beneficial, fungicides provide only some protection and cannot cure scab. If environmental conditions are extremely favorable for scab development, with sufficient moisture and humidity during flowering, the disease will still occur, albeit in smaller numbers.
Fusarium head blight with NDSU's Andrew Friskop.
Plant pathologists are making progress in developing early warning systems for farmers. A team from Kansas State University, Ohio State University and Pennsylvania State University is developing a computer model to predict scab risk. Their wheat disease predictive model uses historical and current environmental data from weather stations across the United States, as well as current conditions, to develop the forecast.
In areas most at risk, plant pathologists and commodity experts recommend that wheat growers apply fungicides during periods when fungal growth is likely to occur to reduce the likelihood of crop damage and mycotoxin spread.
Tom W. AllenAssociate Professor, Department of Plant Pathology, Mississippi State University. This article has been republished from Talk under Creative Commons license. Read original article.
