On June 10, the first wheat field day of 2026 was held in Jefferson County at a state variety trial planted in a grower’s field (Figure 1). Attendees included growers, representatives from the Nebraska Wheat Board, industry partners, Nebraska Extension faculty, and students. University of Nebraska–Lincoln experts, the executive director of NU Horizon Genetics, and industry representatives highlighted the agronomic traits and disease resistance characteristics of breeding lines and varieties developed by public institutions and private companies.

Wheat disease surveys were conducted June 8–11 in Lancaster, Gage, Saline, Jefferson and Saunders counties in southeast Nebraska. Growth stages ranged from hard dough in late-maturing varieties and breeding lines in a Jefferson County state variety trial (Figure 2) to turning color and nearing harvest in a Jefferson County grower's field (Figure 3).

Leaf rust (Figure 4) was the most commonly observed disease in fields or parts of fields that had not turned color. Fusarium head blight (Figure 5) was present at moderate levels in a Jefferson County grower’s field. In a grower’s field and in the state variety trial in Jefferson County, approximately 2% of wheat heads had sooty mold (Figure 6). 

These heads and their peduncles (the portion of the stem directly below the head) detached easily from the plants when pulled. Examination indicated that they had been killed by wheat stem maggot, after which saprophytic fungi colonized the dead tissue, resulting in the sooty mold.

Management

Information on wheat stem maggot and management recommendations is available in this Kansas State University resource.