Continued funding for the USWBSI (U.S. Wheat and Barley Scab Initiative) is contingent on appropriations from Congress, and meeting attendees expressed concern that delays in passing a final funding bill for 2013 will subsequently delay distribution of funds for this critical research.

By Jochum Wiersma, Small Grains Specialist, University of Minnesota

Marcia McMullen, Extension Plant Pathologist, North Dakota State University, June 5, 2012

The 2012 version of the wheat scab prediction tools are now available. . These tools provide daily estimates of risk for Fusarium head blight also known as wheat scab. Selecting a state from the map will zoom view to individual states and detail the risk of disease in that area. The risk maps show current estimates of the risk of Fusarium head blight based on weather past seven days. A green map indicates a low risk of severe disease. Yellow and red colors on the map indicate a progressively greater risk of disease.

Two important wheat research organizations – the U.S. Wheat and Barley Scab Initiative (USWBSI) and the National Wheat Improvement Committee – held their annual meetings recently in St. Louis.