A critical time for stripe rust monitoring

Farm and Ranch May 24, 2010 Stripe rust has been developing rapidly in the Walla Walla, Washington area and nearby Umatilla county Oregon. Agricultural Research Service scientist Xianming Chen reported Friday that now is the critical time for wheat growers in the Walla Walla, central Washington and nearby regions to check their fields for stripe rust and spray if necessary. Chen says producers in the Palouse region, Whitman County, Washington and Latah County Idaho, and further north should start to check wheat fields and consider spraying if rust develops to five to 10 percent severity.

The ARS scientist says several winter wheat cultivars such as Tubbs, Tubbs 06 and Brundage are not uniformly resistant and susceptible plants can be found in these crops. Chen says fields with such cultivars may or may not need spraying depending upon location and a 20 percent severity may be used to make that decision.

In the Walla Walla area Chen says the new soft white winter wheat Xerpha may need spraying. That may not be the case everywhere.

Chen: “For the Palouse area and further north they may not need to spray. We need to watch for that.”

Cool temperatures have meant the adult high temperature resistance of Xerpha has not kicked in. Depending on location Chen says other varieties with high temperature adult plant resistance such as Farnum and Bauermeister may also need spraying. He says fields of the susceptible varieties of Declo, Buchanan, Finley, Finway, Palatin and Eddy should be sprayed.

I’m Bob Hoff and that’s the Northwest Farm and Ranch Report on Northwest Aginfo Net.