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An investment in wheat seed treatment is one way growers can ensure they allow their wheat to truly reach its yield potential, according to Robert Hunger, Oklahoma State University professor of plant pathology and Extension wheat pathologist. Hunger told producers wheat seed treatments can help control bunts and smuts, as well as harmful insects, suppress root rot and control fall foliar diseases. In the case of bunts and smuts, wheat seed treatment is critical to control, since breeders haven’t bred resistance into their wheat lines. Hunger spoke at the 2009 Bayer Profit Maximizer Wheat Summit sponsored by Bayer CropScience, High Plains Journal and KFRM. “Systemic seed treatments eliminate these problems, so breeders don’t have to breed for resistance,” Hunger said. “Therefore, resistance through treatment is critical because genetic resistance is no longer being pursued.”
In Oklahoma, as well as parts of Kansas, wheat is a dual-purpose crop—that is, growers produce it for cattle grazing as well as grain. This dual purpose requires growers to plant earlier and earlier, he said, and this earlier planting date gives pathogens and insects time to get to wheat. “Planting earlier, we see barley yellow dwarf virus because there is more time for aphids to transmit the virus,” Hunger said. Seed treatments can protect wheat seedlings from infestations. Early planting dates also increase the potential for root rot damage, to which all wheat varieties are susceptible. These root rots, Hunger said, can cause damping off of seedlings. The earlier the planting date means the higher the rate of incidence and severity of infestation. Treatments, he added, let seedlings have a chance to develop.
Farmers must look at their production goals to determine if seed treatments are right for them, Hunger said. “In Oklahoma, we say yes, use seed treatments, unless you have a field that you think will not yield at least 20 to 22 bushels per acre,” he said. “Think of the advantage of controlling diseases and insects. It’s a good insurance policy to invest in protecting a lot of what that wheat plant is capable of doing.” Hunger also touched on foliar fungicide applications, explaining to growers that foliar fungicides are not miracle compounds. “Fungicides only protect the yield potential of the plant,” he said. The key is to apply them before the infection is too severe, preferably early in the development of the plant when infection can cause the most damage. He said most yield reduction was seen in studies of severe foliar disease infections at the flag leaf stage. Some studies have looked into split applications of foliar fungicides, but Hunger told growers that isn’t really practical in Kansas and Oklahoma. Rather, he advised a single application at the full rate at an optimal time during the growth of the plant to protect its yield potential. Hunger briefly discussed fusarium head blight, and told growers that crop rotation can be key to controlling it. “Rotate your wheat with a broadleaf crop,” Hunger said. “Canola is working in some parts of Oklahoma and becoming popular because it doesn’t support fusarium growth.”
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