Will Fusarium be a Problem in the 2006 Spring Wheat Crop?

That’s a $1 million question! The month of May had double the normal rainfall in some areas. What’s in store for June? Fusarium infection in wheat is very much dependant on the weather that occurs around the time that the wheat heads and begins to pollinate.

In 2006, a lot of spring wheat was planted 1 to 2 weeks earlier than most years, so the spring wheat crop will also be heading earlier than normal. How much earlier will depend on the field’s planting date and the temperatures in June. In most parts of the province, spring wheat normally heads during the last week of June or the first week in July. For those fields that were planted earlier this year, start watching for the risk of fusarium infection in mid-June.

Prediction Maps

The weather conditions 7 days prior to the wheat heading and for 5 to 10 days after the wheat heads have emerged are critical for fusarium infection. Deoxynivalenol (DON) is the toxin produced by the fusarium mould. DON (in ppm) prediction maps are available on the Ontario Weather Network website. Site specific DONCAST maps give a more accurate prediction using the field’s crop rotation, wheat variety, planting date, soil type, and local weather conditions. The charge is $100 for three fields.

Control

Folicur is currently the only product registered for suppression of fusarium. It is applied from when at least 75% of the wheat heads on the main stem are fully emerged, to when 50% of the heads on the main stem are in flower. On-farm trials have shown an average of about 2 bushels per acre yield increase in spring wheat.

REMEMBER, it is important to monitor the growth stage of the wheat in your own fields to identify the time of head emergence (Zadok's 59) in order to select the proper map for your field listed on the website.

Representative Zadok Stages

Source: Dr. David Hooker & ARt Schaatsma, U. of G., Ridgetown.
Rainfall data collected jointly by the Ontario Weather Network and Environment Canada.

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