Scouting for Wheat Diseases

Winter wheat in much of Wisconsin is around the jointing stage.  This is an excellent time to start scouting for wheat diseases, especially those that are known to overwinter in Wisconsin like Septoria and Powdery mildew.  We have detected those two diseases in our initial scouting around the state, but their presence is highly dependent on the wheat variety.  In our scouting efforts, we have found these diseases in more susceptible varieties.  Severity of Septoria and Powder mildew is still very low at the moment.  Have a look through the April 10 Wisconsin Crop Manager for two articles that describe scouting for wheat diseases and also the decision process for understanding the risk for a disease outbreak and the use of foliar fungicides.