Springtime is upon us, and spring 2020 has brought an abundance of moisture. Typically, 2 things come out of a wet spring, positive yield potentials and foliar diseases. When we have encouraging yield potentials, effort should be made to protect that potential. Outside of some late season applications of nitrogen or some micronutrient packages, insect and disease control is the primary yield saving practice remaining.
CHS’s agronomy team has been out and about and are finding several different issues in area fields. Tan spot, septoria leaf blotch, leaf rust, stagonospora nodorum blotch and stripe rust have all been spotted. No-till fields or fields with residue should be closely monitored as majority of the cases found thus far have been in fields with residue on the soil surface. This is common as residue serves as a host to the fungi. While clean tilled fields can be infected, what we have found is that most of these are only showing the normal signs of natural senescence (sloughing tillers/leaves). A mottling appearance will often be present due to the saprophytic organisms including fungi that colonize on old dying leaves. These fungi are not harmful or known for creating leaf spotting diseases, but they do make the leaves appear to be infected.
Areas from Hinton north across CHS’s footprint are mostly only showing signs of leaf spotting diseases. However, stripe rust has been found further south in CHS’s recently acquired Fredrick area. Heath Sanders, Sales Agronomist recently alerted me to a field of Gallagher wheat in Tillman county where he identified a stripe rust infection. Knowing that the spores are floating around, and the weather is conducive for stripe rust, our agronomy team will be busy in an effort to stay in front of it and keep our customers informed.
Even in a low and unstable market like we are faced with, fungicides are essential to maintaining our current yield goal. Fungicide applications do not gain you bushels. They help hold together the bushels already present. In the case of a severe outbreak, which is always a possibility, you could hold together 5 to 10 bushels in most varieties.
Leaf spotting diseases often are severe enough to warrant an early fungicide application. A second application could be necessary as we move closer to heading and up to flowering as this will be a critical time to protect our grain fill from stripe rust, powdery mildew and leaf rust. Managing these applications and deciding what products will give you the residual control you need for the price that fits your operation is a tough task. We have curative and preventative fungicide options in house that range in price. Contact your CHS agronomist to help you through the process of deciding the best application timing and the most effective products for your situation.