NDSU Extension and the North Dakota Wheat Commission are pleased to announce that the annual Best of the Best in Wheat Research meeting will be held on Wednesday, Jan. 29, in Minot, North Dakota, at the Grand Oasis Hotel. The meeting provides wheat growers and agronomists current information on variety performance, fertility management and disease control.
The program will start at 8:30 a.m. with a welcome from the NDSU Extension - Ward County Agriculture and Natural Resources agent Paige Brummund. The Ward County Crop Improvement Association and commodity board elections will be held after the program concludes at 3:30 p.m.
Andrew Friskop, NDSU Extension cereal crop and corn pathologist, will re-cap the diseases seen in small grains in 2024. This past growing season was the first in many years when early-season rust diseases including stripe rust and stem rust exhibited economic levels in North Dakota. Friskop will also discuss head scab, also known as Fusarium Head Blight, and provide an update about effective management of this disease and which fungicide products work best for control.
Clair Keene, NDSU Extension small grain and corn agronomist, will discuss spring wheat and durum variety trial results from 2024 and provide tips on variety selection for the up-coming growing season. Keene will also discuss new research being conducted by her graduate student on managing spring wheat for high yield and high quality. This project has been testing how more intensive nitrogen and disease management strategies can increase yield, protein and end-use quality of common spring wheat varieties grown in North Dakota over the past three seasons.