What’s That Black Mold on My Wheat?

Jul 07, 2023

The recent rain and humidity is bringing on black sooty mold in wheat, which is just naturally occurring fungal species colonizing the heads as they senesce. Anything that prematurely killed the wheat, including abiotic stress such as drought or diseases like take-all and root rots, will be seeing more of this black sooty mold. Areas of lodged wheat may also develop more of this sooty mold as they will hold moisture for longer than standing grain.

Generally, this sooty mold should not be much of a problem and will blow out the combine during harvest. However, we might see some black point on the grain caused by some of these fungal species, which shows as a black discoloration typically on one end of the grain. Although black point of the grain will not reduce yield, it can affect quality. This will depend on wheat growth stage of infection and disease pressure.

Fungicides applied for head scab may help to reduce the amount of black point. Head scab pressure in general is at low levels across Michigan as the risk for head scab was low during the critical flowering period. No new head scab infections will occur, but any fields that were infected with head scab may accumulate additional mycotoxin during these periods of excessive moisture.

Source : msu.edu

Video: Why Invest in Canada’s Seed Future? | On The Brink: Episode 3

Darcy Unger just invested millions to build a brand-new seed plant on his farm in Stonewall, Manitoba so when it’s time for his sons to take over, they have the tools they need to succeed.

Right now, 95% of the genetics they’ll be growing come from Canadian plant breeders.

That number matters.

When fusarium hit Western Canada in the late 90s, it was Canadian breeders who responded, because they understood Canadian conditions. That ability to react quickly to what’s happening on Canadian farms is exactly what’s at risk when breeding programs lose funding.

For farmers like Darcy, who have made generational investments based on the assumption that better genetics will keep coming, the stakes are direct and personal.

We’re on the brink of decisions that will shape our agricultural future for not only our generation, but also the ones to come.

What direction will we choose?

On The Brink is a year-long video series traveling across Canada to meet the researchers, breeders, farmers, seed companies, and policymakers shaping the future of Canadian plant breeding. Each week, a new story. Each story, a piece of the bigger picture.

Episode 3 is above. Follow Seed World Canada to catch every episode, and tell us: Do you think the next generation will have the tools they need to success when they takeover? How is the future going to look?