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Northwest wheat farmers fight fungal outbreak that shrinks yields

By Andy Porter, Walla Walla Union-Bulletin
Published: June 9, 2017, 6:01am

A round of cool, rainy weather on its way won’t help wheat growers fight an epidemic of stripe rust throughout the Pacific Northwest.

Temperatures in the mid-90s today will fall in the face of an approaching weather system expected to bring rain and cooler temperatures, according to the National Weather Service.

The cool, wet conditions aid the spread of stripe rust, which has been developing quickly in fields this spring.

The fungus, which turns plants orange, can cut yields depending on the variety of wheat planted, said Washington State University researcher Xianming Chen.

There was a severe stripe rust epidemic in 2016 and, when left untreated by fungicides, resulted in yield loss ranging from 70 percent in susceptible varieties to 35 percent in resistant wheat strains.

The disease affects the quality of wheat grains, producing smaller or shriveled grains, lowering the value of the grain, Chen said.

A similar outbreak was forecast this year because in many areas the spores survived the winter due to snow cover, which insulates the spores from the cold.

Due to fungicide applications or the variety of wheat planted, stripe rust is generally under control in commercial fields in Walla Walla, Columbia, Garfield and Columbia counties, as well as in Umatilla County in Oregon.

Growers are being asked to check fields for stripe rust pustules and apply fungicides as needed.

However, the need to repeat applications of fungicide can cut into a farmer’s profits, Chen noted.

“As the weather has been and will continue to be favorable for stripe rust development, we still have a long way to go to control stripe rust for this crop season,” he said.

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