Diseases

Wheat scab rearing its ugly “head” again in 2014

  • June 16, 2014

  • Aaron Hager

Head scab of wheat (a.k.a. Fusarium head blight) is showing up in the southern portion of Illinois.  In many cases, incidence is moderate to high (over 50% of the heads affected).  Affected wheat heads will appear “bleached” in color.  Heads often are partially affected, with both healthy green and affected bleached areas being present in the same head.  Although I have not been in all wheat production areas in the state, my general observations are that fields in southern Illinois (south of Interstate 70) range from a moderate to high incidence of scab. …

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Considerations for fungicide management of Fusarium head blight of wheat

  • May 9, 2014

  • Aaron Hager

Wheat plants are now beginning to head out and flower in parts of southern Illinois. During this critical time of wheat development, wheat becomes susceptible to infection by Fusarium graminearum, the causal agent of Fusarium head blight (FHB; also known as scab) (Fig. 1). This disease can cause reduced grain yield, test weight, and quality. In addition, the fungus can produce toxins that will contaminate grain such as deoxynivalenol (DON; also known as vomitoxin).…

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Ready for Samples at the University of Illinois Plant Clinic

  • April 24, 2014

  • Suzanne Bissonnette

Welcome to another Diagnostics season! Samples have been steadily appearing this spring here at the Clinic in our 39th year of operation. On the field front, there have been concerns with virus disease diagnosis in wheat. On the home landscape front, there is a mountain of winter kill and windburn injury from the harsh winter just past.
The University of Illinois Plant Clinic began year-round operation in the fall of 2011. Our new location is in Jonathan Baldwin Turner Hall on the south end of the Urbana campus.…

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2014 Illinois Crop Management Conferences Registration Now Open

  • December 4, 2013

  • Aaron Hager

The latest research information on crop production and management issues will be discussed at four University of Illinois Crop Management Conferences this winter. These two-day conferences are designed to address a wide array of topics pertinent to crop production, pest management, and natural resource issues and provide a forum for discussion and interaction between participants and university researchers.
Certified Crop Advisers can earn up to 13 hours of CEU credit. Advance registration, no later than one week before each conference,…

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Soybean rust: status and risk

  • August 19, 2013

  • Aaron Hager

Observations of soybean rust in southern states indicate that the pathogen (Phakopsora pachyrhizi) is beginning to move northward towards Illinois. Based on current movement, soybean rust likely will arrive in Illinois again this year, but it may not be in the state early enough to cause any yield losses. Late-planted fields would be the most at risk to losses caused by soybean rust. In general, once soybean plants reach the R6 stage (full seed stage),…

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Southern rust of corn observed in Illinois

  • August 14, 2013

  • Aaron Hager

Southern rust of corn has now been observed in different areas of Illinois.  Southern rust is one of two different rust diseases of corn that can be observed in the state (the other is known as common rust).  Because nearly every corn hybrid grown is susceptible to southern rust, yield reductions can occur if infection takes place early enough in the season.  Late-planted corn fields are at the highest risk for yield losses associated with southern rust and should be scouted for the presence of this disease. …

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Assessing the risk of white mold (Sclerotinia stem rot) of soybean in 2013

  • July 22, 2013

  • Aaron Hager

White mold of soybean (a.k.a. Sclerotinia stem rot), caused by the fungus Sclerotinia sclerotiorum, is a disease that can occur in the northern half of the state in cool, wet years.  The most recent white mold epidemic in Illinois occurred during the 2009 season, where several fields in the northern half of the state were affected.
The white mold fungus overwinters in the soil as, small, black, and dense structures known as sclerotia. …

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