Low Head Scab And Vomiitoxin And Very Good Grain Yield And Quality

Jun 29, 2016

A June 27 Update: Wheat is now drying-down and is even being harvested in some parts of the state. Thanks in part to cool spring conditions followed by relatively dry weather during early grain-fill, head scab and other disease levels were generally low in most areas; and low disease severity often means very good grain yield and quality. Stripe rust was our biggest disease problem this year, but outbreaks only occurred in pockets within and across fields. Moreover, several of the affected fields were treated with a fungicide which helped to keep this and other later-season diseases in check.

The first set of harvest numbers are showing yields above 80 bushels per acre and test weight in the upper 50s. While we expect these numbers to vary from field to field, once the rain stays away as harvest continues, we expect to continue seeing very good grain yield and quality. Lodging is being reported I some fields, but unless it becomes very windy and rainy over the next few weeks, this will likely not be a major problem. However, getting the wheat off as soon as possible will minimize the chance of lodging and other late season problems. If you opt to harvest early (moisture in the upper teens or lower 20s), make sure you dry the grain down to minimize post-harvest problems.

Source:osu.edu

Video: Spring 2026 weather outlook for Wisconsin; What an early-arriving El Niño could mean

Northeast Wisconsin is a small corner of the world, but our weather is still affected by what happens across the globe.

That includes in the equatorial Pacific, where changes between El Niño and La Niña play a role in the weather here -- and boy, have there been some abrupt changes as of late.

El Niño and La Niña are the two phases of what is collectively known as the El Niño Southern Oscillation, or ENSO for short. These are the swings back and forth from unusually warm to unusually cold sea surface temperatures in the Pacific Ocean along the equator.

Since this past September, we have been in a weak La Niña, which means water temperatures near the Eastern Pacific equator have been cooler than usual. That's where we're at right now.

Even last fall, the long-term outlook suggested a return to neutral conditions by spring and potentially El Niño conditions by summer.

But there are some signs this may be happening faster than usual, which could accelerate the onset of El Niño.

Over the last few weeks, unusually strong bursts of westerly winds farther west in the Pacific -- where sea surface temperatures are warmer than average -- have been observed. There is a chance that this could accelerate the warming of those eastern Pacific waters and potentially push us into El Niño sooner than usual.

If we do enter El Nino by spring -- which we'll define as the period of March, April and May -- there are some long-term correlations with our weather here in Northeast Wisconsin.

Looking at a map of anomalously warm weather, most of the upper Great Lakes doesn't show a strong correlation, but in general, the northern tiers of the United States do tend to lean to that direction.

The stronger correlation is with precipitation. El Niño conditions in spring have historically come with a higher risk of very dry weather over that time frame, so this will definitely be a transition we'll have to watch closely as we move out of winter.