Managing Fusarium In Spring Wheat

Fusarium Risk Maps

The infection of fusarium head blight is very dependent on the weather conditions 7 days prior to heading and 5 to 10 days after the wheat heads have emerged. Fusarium Risk Maps and additional information can be found at the Weather INnovations Inc Website.

The Fusarium Risk Maps can be used to predict the risk of fusarium infection during the flowering stage of the wheat. The predicted risk information will be presented as colour-coded maps. These maps forecast the amount of toxin (DON in ppm) that would accumulate if your wheat was at Zadok's Stage 59 (75% of the heads in a canopy completely emerged from the flag leaf) on the date of a map. The prediction model incorporates rainfall, heading dates and temperature to produce a risk map for DON production.

Each map will be updated with actual weather data as the season progresses to improve the accuracy of the predictions. This year, Weather INnovations will be updating the Fusarium Risk Maps on the web every day until July 15^th.

DON predictions are meant to serve as a guide to alert producers of potentially high DON levels. Based on the forecasted risk of fusarium infection, growers can decide on the need to apply Folicur fungicide.

| Top of Page |

Folicur Emergency Use Registration

Folicur 432F (tebuconazole) manufactured by Bayer Crop Sciences Inc has received an Emergency Use Registration for 2003. Emergency Use Registrations are time limited and the Folicur 432F registration expires on September 30, 2003. Registration applies to both ground and aircraft application of the product for Fusarium head blight suppression in Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Quebec ONLY.

Reduce DON Levels

On-farm experience from the past two years Fusarium Management In Spring Wheat Projects has shown an approximate 30% reduction in DON levels with the use of Folicur. Greater reductions in DON levels can be expected with sprayer application speeds below 7 mph and the use of the two-way (front and back) nozzles, angled down 10° for better product coverage on wheat heads.

Staging Critical

REMEMBER, it is important to monitor your own fields to identify the time of 75% head emergence (Zadok's 59) in order to select the proper map from the table of dates listed on the website.

| Top of Page |

Representative Zadok Stages

Source: Dr. David Hooker & Art Schaafsma, U. of G., Ridgetown
Rainfall data collected jointly by the Weather INnovations Inc and Environment Canada.

Link to a text equivalent description of the image

Related Links

• Weather INnovations Inc.

| Top of Page |