On Nov. 1 stripe rust was identifield in a wheat field in the Nebraska Panhandle. This is the second successive year when the disease emerged in the fall and University of Nebraska plant pathologists are seeking reports for further research.
This is from a four-part series on stripe rust's history and geographic distribution, biology and life cycle, causes of recent severe epidemics, and management options. Find all the stories on the UNL Panhandle Research and Extension Center website under Panhandle Perspectives.
The authors look at the early history of Nebraska's dry bean industry from initial (and low-yielding) production in 1895 to its growth through marketing contracts and new processing facilities in the mid 1930s.
Paying attention to these five areas before planting winter wheat can help assure a healthier crop for 2017: planting at the appropriate date, using tolerant cultivars, planting into a firm seedbed, controlling weeds and volunteer wheat, and treating seed with fungicide.
Rollins Emerson, who became a world renowned corn geneticist, should first be recognized as the catalyst for developing the Nebraska dry bean industry. This article is one in a series by UNL faculty at the Panhandle Research and Extension Center exploring dry bean and yellow pea production in Nebraska, as part of 2016, the International Year of the Pulses.
Stripe rust has significantly increased in all wheat-growing areas in Nebraska. It is recommended that wheat be treated with a fungicide to protect the flag leaf. If the incidence (percentage of flag leaves diseased) or severity (percentage of the flag leaf area diseased) is less than 50%, spraying a fungicide will significantly reduce yield loss due to stripe rust.
While native Americans had been eating dry beans for years, dry beans weren't commercially produced in the US until well into the 19th century. With a boost from Civil War military consumption in the 1860s, the industry grew and developed to become the global food supplier it is today. Nebraska ranks first in the nation in production of dry northern beans and fourth in overall dry bean production.
