Multiple fungicide applications may be needed for stripe rust

Farm and Ranch May 24, 2011 In a new update on stripe rust in winter wheat for the Pacific Northwest, Agricultural Research Service scientist Xianming Chen says most fields he checked late last week had been sprayed with a fungicide and the rust was mostly under control. However, Chen did find some fields along Highway 17 near Lind, Washington that had not been sprayed. He says it is not too late to apply fungicides to those fields, both to protect the fields as well as wheat in neighboring fields.

Chen says in some fields that were sprayed earlier new infections are occurring as the fungicide has started to pass its effective duration. That may mean a second application is necessary.

Chen: “In some areas some people have already started with the second spray because this year the rust season is very long. Most of the crop is still in the tillering to early boot stage, depending on the area. So, therefore we still have one month, even two months to protect the crop.”

Chen says the current weather forecast for the next couple of weeks is cool and moist, which will be conducive to stripe rust. He says even without additional precipitation, good soil moisture in most areas of Idaho, Washington and Oregon will create dew-forming conditions for stripe rust to infect crops.

I’m Bob Hoff and that’s the Northwest Farm and Ranch Report on Northwest Aginfo Net.