Wheat stands and health looked good in April, and dry weather allowed for timely nitrogen and herbicides applications. Our cool but dry spring kept plant height shorter in much of the region but normal in areas of adequate rainfall. Even with below average temperatures, the first heads were pushing on time during the last week of May. Pollination was very evident the first week of June, and the sweet smell of the wheat could be detected while driving the countryside.

Diseases and fungicide applications
Some powdery mildew and sooty blotch could be detected throughout the region. I had reports of some fields that were sprayed with fungicides both by ground and air. Some of these fields were over-threshold, some under-threshold, and some were clean. It will be interesting to see if the extra investment pays off at harvest. I walked some fields that probably could have benefited, but heads were emerging and it was too late to apply any of the available fungicides.

Head scab can be a problem for western New York wheat producers. The critical period for infection is during flowering. If we have wet, rainy conditions, scab can infect through the flower into the kernel. The weather in the first week of June has been hot with hit-and-miss showers across the region. Most areas have had dry weather and great pollination conditions. This doesn’t mean we won’t have any scab, but chances of infection have been reduced.

Grain bin preparation
Clean storage facilities thoroughly prior to harvest to eliminate any food source for insects to survive. Stored grain insects survive in old grain so complete cleaning is the first line of defense. The same is true for grain handling equipment such as augers and drying bins. Sanitation is your best method for preventing insect problems in stored grain.

Take these steps:

• Treat the floor and walls of bins with a labeled insecticide to the point of runoff. Several products are labeled for empty bin treatment such as Tempo SC Ultra (beta-cyfluthrin) and some pyrethroids. If Indian meal moth is a problem, Bt (Bacillus thuringiensis), dusts are reasonably effective prior to or during grain fill.
• Spray some insecticide through the fan under the false floor of drying bins.
• Spray around the outside base of the bin.
• Insects will come out when you are cleaning and survive on weed seeds. So get rid of the weeds and old grain debris that may be on the ground around the bin.

Harvest preparation
Every year we seem to have issues with sprouted wheat. Many growers have switched from white varieties to red to gain a degree of “sprout tolerance.” Red wheat will still sprout, but your harvest window is a little wider.

Know your grain moisture and have the combine prepared to go when it’s time to pull the trigger. The first harvested wheat will have the best quality. With much of this year’s wheat booked at better than average prices, you’ll want to get it harvested, dried down and stored as quickly as possible.

Mike Stanyard is the field crops and insect specialist with the Northwest New York Dairy, Livestock & Field Crops Team. Contact him at 315-331-8415. Ext. 123. Email: mjs88@cornell.edu
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