Is anthesis the key timing for a fungicide pass if fusarium is the risk?
Possibly, but going too early can leave heads or parts of heads unprotected, and later infection can cause some big downgrades due to DON production (a toxin produced by the disease).
For this episode of the Wheat School, Amber Bell is back in the field with Dr. Kelly Turkington, plant pathologist with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada to talk about fungicide management of fusarium head blight.
Because fungicides offer suppression only of FHB, the temptation may be to go in on the early side to ensure protection; however, Turkington points out that the product options are not mobile in the plant, protecting only what it comes in contact with. Waiting for most of the heads to emerge before application means that more of the heads will have some suppression potential.
Turkington adds that there is such thing as too late, however applying on the back end of the approved window can still pay dividends if the conditions for disease development are favourable. A later application can help keep DON levels lower, too.
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