The following is a Wheat Disease Update authored by Bob Hunger, Extension Wheat Pathologist from the Department of Entomology & Plant Pathology at Oklahoma State University.
"I indicated last November that leaf rust was severe in many wheat varieties that had been planted early (mid-September) in Dr. David Marburger’s variety demonstration strips here at Stillwater. As we moved into December and January, there were two severe cold spells along with drought that caused significant death of the rank foliage. Many of the burned/dead leaves were infected with leaf rust, and killing of these infected leaves stopped the spread of leaf rust to new/young foliage. The burning of the foliage in these plots was quite noticeable in mid-January. Last week I examined these plots to see if leaf rust had overwintered, and sure enough, viable leaf rust pustules were present on some of the newer/younger leaves.
"Hence, leaf rust has overwintered in much of Oklahoma and inoculum to start this disease in the spring will come not only from within the state, but also from Texas where widespread, moderate levels of leaf rust have been reported (see report below from Texas). The two recent widespread rain events also will support the further infection and spread of leaf rust in Oklahoma, but weather through March and April still will be the ultimate determiner as to how severe leaf rust becomes in Oklahoma in 2017. However, be sure to start checking your wheat over the coming weeks for the presence of leaf rust (especially if you have a moderately susceptible to susceptible variety). I can’t imagine any spraying is needed at this time for leaf rust, but you should stay alert for the presence of this disease as we proceed into March and April when conditions for leaf rust infection and spread typically become more favorable.
"The other rust that can greatly impact yield in Oklahoma is stripe rust . Typically if stripe rust is going to be a problem in Oklahoma we start to see “hot spots” in fields from late February into early March. Note that often early season stripe rust infections do not typically show the striping pattern associated with stripe rust but rather pustules tend to occur more in clusters as depicted in Figure 3. Reports of moderate to severe stripe rust also typically are coming in from Texas by this time in years when stripe rust is severe in Oklahoma. However, no stripe rust has yet been reported in Oklahoma this year, and reports indicate stripe rust is sparse in Texas (see below). This is good news in terms of the likelihood of stripe rust in Oklahoma, but continue to watch for stripe rust when looking for leaf rust.
"Other foliar disease to watch for include tan spot, septorialeaf blotch, and powdery mildew. These diseases (especially tan spot and septoria leaf blotch) are more likely to occur in no-till, continuous wheat fields. If sufficiently severe in a no-till field, spraying for these in March may be beneficial but only if young wheat plants are severely spotted with one of these diseases. For additional information regarding early season foliar wheat diseases and possible control with an early fungicide application please see our fact sheet (PSS-2138) that discusses split application of fungicides at www.wheat.okstate.edu
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