By Nathan Kleczewski
In most parts of Delaware, wheat has started to enter flag leaf emergence (FGS 8) and some wheat is just past emergence (FGS 9-boot). Growers who are concerned about diseases of the head such as glume blotch and fusarium head blight should be thinking about when flowering will occur, so that they can properly time their fungicide applications if these are required. Once a plant has finished FGS 8, we typically see heading occur about 7-10 days later. This can vary with temperature, with heading taking longer when temperatures are cool and occurring more rapidly when temperatures are hot. Once plants are fully headed, flowering typically occurs within 3-5 days. If you are at FGS 8 today (April 25) you can expect heading to occur sometime around the second half of next week (May 5-7) and flowering to start sometime around the week of May 9th. Once flowering starts you have 5-6 days to make an application of Caramba, Prosaro, or Proline if conditions are conducive to fusarium head blight or glume blotch. The head blight prediction center tool can help you determine if this application is needed http://www.wheatscab.psu.edu/.
Overall we are roughly 1-2 weeks ahead of schedule, although the cool temperatures have helped even us out for the most part. Keep an eye on your wheat fields so you know 1) if you need to make a chemical application and 2) when to make the application, if needed.