Fall Leaf Rust Showing Up In Oklahoma Wheat- Bob Hunger Says No Spraying Needed Now

 

 

On a periodic basis- OSU Extension wheat pathologist Dr. Bob Hunger provides updates on disease issues with our wheat crop. This is his report for the 2017 winter wheat crop:

 

Fall 2016 has been mild/warm and relatively dry. Because of the dryness, fall foliar diseases should be relatively sparse, but some areas have received sufficient rain or had sufficient dews to favor development of wheat foliar diseases. That is the case around Stillwater as you can see in the photo to the right. This picture, which was taken November 5th in one of Dr. Brett Carver’s wheat breeding nurseries at Stillwater, was planted September 14th. The variety is Jagalene, which is highly susceptible to both leaf and stripe rust (I could find no stripe rust).

 

I am not a proponent of spraying in the fall to control fall foliar diseases such as leaf rust because leaf rust development slows and stops once we get to winter temperatures in late November-January (basically <60 F). Typically the lower/older leaves with leaf rust pustules die, but the youngest leaves are green and healthy. Grazing helps to remove leaf rust infections, is not harmful to cattle, and also “opens” the canopy so there is increased air circulation and drying that are less favorable to development of leaf rust. Given these considerations, spraying to control leaf rust in the fall typically is not necessary. The primary concern with fall leaf rust is that with a mild winter and sufficient moisture, the rust will survive through the winter and inoculum will be present in fields to start the disease early in the spring. Hence, monitoring of fields through the late winter and early next spring is recommended to see if application of a fungicide to control rust is indicated in the early spring.

 

Other samples that have come to the lab for diagnosis appear to be related to abiotic conditions such as dryness or low fertility. Some leaf spots have been observed on these samples, but they are either secondary or of low incidence and not a cause of major concern. Leaf spotting diseases such as tan spot and Septoria leaf blotch typically do not appear until late February or March.