For audio version, visit kswheat.com.

Control volunteer wheat early and often to protect next year’s yields

Billowing clouds bringing summer showers are a welcome sight for sore eyes following a multi-year drought, but Kansas producers should also keep their eyes on their fields to monitor and control volunteer wheat. Doing so is essential to protecting next summer’s harvest as those sneaky plants harbor the wheat curl mites that carry yield-limiting diseases like Wheat Streak Mosaic Virus (WSMV).

“Now’s the time to be vigilant about volunteer control,” said Kelsey Andersen Onofre, assistant professor of plant pathology at K-State’s College of Agriculture. “The best opportunity we have to manage WSMV is by managing our volunteer wheat prior to planting. The situation this past season could lead to heightened risk in 2024-25.”

Onofre explained that a combination of meteorological conditions throughout the growing season led to increased WSMV pressure on the 2024 wheat crop.

“We had volunteer wheat last year because of crop failure due to drought and untimely hail prior to harvest. We even had cases where folks were grazing volunteer wheat because of the drought conditions,” she said. “Then we had good conditions for mite development and reproduction in the fall. All that led to a perfect storm for WSMV last year.”

“This year was a bad year for WSMV, not just in western Kansas, but across the state. We had very severe WSMV across the whole northern tier of counties in Kansas, even in the northeast corner – that’s atypical. In addition, we had higher than usual levels of Triticum mosaic (TriM) come through the K-State Plant Disease Diagnostic Clinic.”

While K-State is still crunching the final yield loss estimates from WSMV for the 2024 harvest, the disease causes an average of $75 million in losses to Kansas wheat farmers every year – with the potential for more than 80 percent yield loss in heavily infected fields.

The virus is spread by the wheat curl mite, which feeds on wheat and other grasses. Wheat curl mites and the virus must have green host tissue to survive on throughout the summer after harvest. They most commonly reside on volunteer wheat that blew out the back of the combine or shattered grain from hailstorms that happened before harvest. The mites move from mature wheat to newly emerged wheat in the summer. Onofre noted there can also be sneaky scenarios where volunteer wheat emerges in double-cropped fields or cover crops.

Fields with WSMV infections last year should be particularly mindful of volunteer management through the summer. While WSMV is not treatable once fields are infected, the disease is preventable – and controlling volunteer wheat is a top priority to do so.

“Managing your volunteer is the absolute best management strategy,” Onofre said, adding that it is recommended that producers terminate volunteer wheat at least two weeks prior to planting wheat to allow enough time to kill all the wheat curl mites present in a field. Ideally, all fields within one to two miles are volunteer-free, but that can be hard to accomplish.

Producers also have the option to select varieties developed with built-in genetic resistance to WSMV – and the list of varieties available with this resistance grows with each year’s releases. However, Onofre cautioned that the genes that provide resistance are not perfect – they’re pressure sensitive, turn off at high temperatures and don’t work against other mite-carried diseases like Triticum mosaic (TriM).

“An uptick in disease emphasizes that you can’t rely on that genetic resistance alone,” she said. “While we do have options and varietal selection is really important, that very first priority has to be controlling that volunteer wheat.”

Onofre also reminded producers that the K-State Plant Disease Diagnostic Clinic can test for WSMV and other wheat viruses to determine the presence of the virus – even as early as this fall. If a producer suspects they have a WSMV or TriM infection, they can work with their local extension office to submit samples to the lab.

Read the latest guidance from K-State Agronomy on WSMV and the importance of controlling volunteer wheat this year at: https://eupdate.agronomy.ksu.edu/.

(specific link if you want to use it is at: https://eupdate.agronomy.ksu.edu/article/wheat-streak-mosaic-virus-control-of-volunteer-wheat-is-crucial-600-2.)

Kelsey added an additional link if you want to include it: More on wheat streak mosaic virus here.

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Written by Julia Debes for Kansas Wheat

For audio version, visit kswheat.com.

Take a break from the Kansas heat and join Kansas Wheat at High Plains Journal’s Sorghum U/Wheat U event on Tuesday, August 13, at the DoubleTree by Hilton in Wichita.

“Kansas Wheat looks forward to Sorghum U/Wheat U each year as an educational event designed to help producers make their operations more efficient, effective and profitable,” said Kansas Wheat CEO Justin Gilpin. “Through breakout sessions and producer panels, the event addresses current challenges and trends in technology, management practices and marketing. All attendees will head home with information they can immediately put into practice.”

The free, one-day event starts with breakfast sandwiches, coffee and a producer panel discussion featuring sorghum and wheat producers, including Kansas Association of Wheat Growers’ Vice President, Chris Tanner, from Norton.

Breakout sessions throughout the day will provide additional opportunities for producers to hear the latest in wheat research, technology and management recommendations. Dalton Henry, vice president of trade policy with U.S. Wheat Associates, will discuss changes in wheat seed technology and policy implications for global trade. Romulo Lollato, K-State Research and Extension wheat and forage specialist will provide a rundown of this year’s wheat harvest and varietal and practice considerations as Kansas farmers prepare to plant wheat this fall.

Kelsey Andersen Onofre, assistant professor of plant pathology in K-State’s College of Agriculture, will provide updates on the diseases that impacted the 2024 wheat crop. She will also discuss the need for disease management following spring and summer rains, especially the need to control volunteer wheat early and throughout the fall to prevent Wheat Streak Mosaic Virus (WSMV) infections in the following wheat crop.

Additional breakout sessions will cover topics specific to sorghum, including how to manage sorghum fertility to maximize profitability, the National Sorghum Producers climate-smart sustainability program and emerging markets.

During a complimentary lunch, keynote speaker Matt Hines, a licensed commodity broker and risk management consultant with Lowen & Associates, will provide a market outlook for the wheat and sorghum markets. Kansas Wheat and Kansas Grain Sorghum will also provide updates on the top issues each commodity is working to address at the regional, state and national levels.

Sorghum U/Wheat U is sponsored by High Plains Journal, Kansas Grain Sorghum Commission, Kansas Wheat, United Sorghum Checkoff Program, DoubleTeam Sorghum Cropping Solution, Kauffman Seed, Heartland Soil Services, Conklin AgroVantage and American AgCredit.

View the full agenda for Sorghum U/Wheat U and pre-register to reserve a free lunch at www.hpj.com/suwu/. Registrations are encouraged by Friday, July 26, to help with meal counts, but late and on-site registrations will be offered. Continuing education credits are also available for certified crop advisors.

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Written by Julia Debes for Kansas Wheat