News

Local crops show disease from the wet weather

Scott Wagar

07/29/2014

With the heavy and steady rains this summer most crops in Bottineau County are seeing minor issues with disease.

“With the wet weather we have had this year it seems like we have had a little bit of everything, but nothing to major yet,” said Jared Nelson, extension agent for Bottineau County. “There has not been any issue in corn yet, but there has been some disease that has shown up in just about everything else.”

According to Nelson, the following crops have these types of diseases:

● Winter Wheat: Tan spot, bacterial leaf streak, loose smut and scab

● Spring Wheat: Tan spot and scab with very low levels of stripe rust in Mohall area in one field, and leaf rust and powdery mildew in our research plots where two or three infected leaves were found

● Barley: Spot Blotch and Net Blotch

● Canola: Black Leg which can expect white mold pretty soon if weather continuous like this

● Soybeans: Bacterial leaf blight and brown spot both are harmless so far

● Sunflowers: Downy mildew very minor incidence, no rust yet and possibly white mold late in the season along with phoma

Nelson stated that a chemical application is taking on certain crop plants, while the remaining plants are being left untouched.

“With the wheat and canola NDSU has been recommending the use of a fungicide to help control some of the disease issues especially scab in the wheat. White mold is a growing concern with how wet it has been this year and a fungicide application may be needed to help reduce the risk of it. This would need to be applied at 20 percent bloom ideally,” Nelson said.

“None of the other diseases seem to present a large enough of a concern to have the need to be sprayed with a fungicide. The main thing being done currently is scouting to see what diseases may start to peak. I have been keeping in close contact with Venkata Chapara, Extension Crop Specialist, to learn what he has seen in counties south of us and if the diseases may be concern for us in Bottineau County.”