Scouting for Fusarium head blight (FHB) and harvest considerations

"Assessing the impacts of Fusarium head blight (FHB) or Scab, caused by Fusarium graminearum, begins with scouting for FHB disease symptoms during the growing season. Understanding damage levels prior to harvest can provide a critical first step to reducing yield losses from both damaged grain and Fusarium mycotoxin (deoxynivalenol [DON] or vomitoxin) contamination. In addition, regular scouting can provide valuable information regarding fungicide efficacy, especially if the same fungicide regimen is repeated year after year. Scouting for FHB can generally begin 2-3 weeks post flowering or 2-3 weeks post application of a fungicide intended for FHB suppression."--First page.Written by Kaitlyn Bissonnette (Assistant Extension Professor, Division of Plant Sciences)New 7/1