Ceres and Trimex team up for regenerative wheat

Keep it Clean reminds retailers to work with their producers to manage Fusarium Head blight for the upcoming planting season.

Managing Fusarium head blight (FHB) is essential to protecting cereal and corn crops. This disease primarily affects durum wheat, spring wheat, barley, and corn, leading to reduced yields and grain quality.

By implementing effective management practices from the start of the 2025 growing season, farmers can mitigate the risk of FHB, helping to ensure their crop’s productivity and marketability.

FHB is particularly concerning because it affects kernel development, resulting in yield and grade losses. Additionally, FHB-infected kernels may contain harmful fungal toxins (mycotoxins), which can impact the quality of harvested grain for livestock feed, baking, milling, biofuel production, and the malting and brewing of barley.

To protect grain’s quality and market options, Keep it Clean offers the following best practices for FHB management during seed selection:

Plan Effective Crop Rotations

  • Fusarium can survive over the winter in crop residues. To reduce disease risk, develop crop rotations that allow residues to break down before planting cereals again. Avoid cereal crops on previously infected fields for at least one year, and ideally two or more.
  • If growing corn, consider that it is also susceptible to FHB, and plan rotations accordingly to minimize the chance of infection.

Choose FHB-Resistant Varieties

  • Selecting resistant varieties is crucial in managing FHB. This choice is especially important in areas with a higher risk of FHB. Among cereals, susceptibility varies: durum wheat is the most susceptible, barley is less so, and oats are the least susceptible.
  • Using resistant varieties gives the crop a natural advantage against FHB, reducing the need for other interventions.

Optimize Stand Establishment and Seeding Timing

  • Establishing a healthy stand with high-quality seed and appropriate seeding rates helps reduce FHB risk. Where possible, time planting to ensure that the crop’s flowering and early kernel stages do not coincide with warm, humid weather, which favours FHB development.

By taking these proactive steps, growers can protect their crops from FHB, ensuring better yield, quality, and profitability for the season.  Remind your producers of these important tips.

 

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