This week’s wheat disease surveys were combined with wheat field days (Figure 1) held in Hitchcock, Perkins, Deuel, Cheyenne, Box Butte and Banner counties June 9-12. The field days were a great success with growers, crop consultants, industry partners, students, post-docs and representatives from the Nebraska Wheat Board, Nebraska Extension, and the Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources (IANR) in attendance.
Stripe rust (Figure 2) was confirmed in nine additional counties in the southwest and Panhandle of Nebraska, bringing the total number of counties with confirmed stripe rust to 14 (Figure 3). Levels of stripe rust observed were mostly trace. Leaf rust has been confirmed only in Lancaster County (Figure 4) at trace levels.
Other diseases observed at low to moderate levels were the wheat streak mosaic virus (WSMV) disease complex (Figure 5) and fungal leaf spots (tan spot, Septoria; Figure 6).
