For Immediate Release
Contact: Michelle Bjerkness
USWBSI Director of Operations
nfo@scabusa.org
U.S. Wheat and Barley Scab Initiative’s 2021 Fusarium Head Blight Disease Impact Update Finds Drought Conditions Minimized Disease Impact Across Most of U.S.
November 3, 2021 – The U.S. Wheat and Barley Scab Initiative (USWBSI) is pleased to announce the publishing of its 2021 Fusarium Head Blight Disease Impact Update. This year commentary from experts in 32 states indicated most growers dealt with drought conditions during the season causing reduced yields and test weights. While very few reports of Fusarium head blight (FHB, also known as scab) were received, a few isolated occurrences were found in some states. Major cases of FHB, however, were reported from Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Texas.
“The USWBSI Fusarium Head Blight Disease Impact Update is a valuable annual overview of the impact of FHB on small grains crops and also serves to monitor the production conditions that U.S. wheat and barley growers experienced throughout the year” noted Ruth Dill-Macky, USWBSI Research Co-Chair. “Growers and researchers alike rely on this information to plan research in the years to come, identify production issues that might need attention, and to help validate tools used to mitigate FHB including the Fusarium Risk Tool, fungicides, and crop varieties with improved levels of resistance.”
The Fusarium Head Blight Disease Impact Update has been re-envisioned to provide an annual report of the crop growing conditions as well as the impact of FHB on wheat and barley in different regions of the United States. Additionally, photos from the different growing regions have been included to highlight specific crop conditions. The USWBSI has been releasing this update article annually since 2010 to provide insight into the experiences that small grains growers had with FHB during the most recent growing season.
For readers interested in learning more about Fusarium Head Blight of wheat and barley visit ScabUSA to find publications and resources by USWBSI funded researchers. Producers can also view the USWBSI FHB Risk Tool developed by researchers in the USWBSI, to monitor FHB risk during the growing season as well as review prior year data for planning. Real-time FHB Alerts sent out during the growing season are also provided by the USWBSI, learn more and subscribe on the website.
The USWBSI is a national multi-disciplinary and multi-institutional research consortium whose goal is to develop effective control measures that minimize the threat of Fusarium Head Blight (scab), including the production of mycotoxins, for producers, processors and consumers of wheat and barley. The USWBSI’s more than $8.5 million annual budget comes from Federal funds appropriated through the USDA-ARS and is distributed to 150 research projects in more than 30 states.
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For more information about the USWBSI please contact the Networking & Facilitator Office (NFO) Director of Operations, Michelle Bjerkness, at 612.990.5032 or nfo@scabusa.org. USWBSI is open to reprinting article or portions upon approval. Please contact Michelle Bjerkness.
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