Effects of Row Spacing and Nitrogen Rate on Wheat Grain Yield and Profitability as Influenced by Diseases.

In Ohio, changes in nitrogen (N) fertilizer application rates and row spacing in combination with fungicide applications have been proposed as possible strategies for increasing wheat productivity and profitability. Field experiments were conducted in 2013, 2014, and 2015 to evaluate the benefits of increasing row spacing and N rates in soft red winter wheat as influenced by diseases. Combinations of narrow (19 cm) and wide (38 cm) row spacings, N rates ranging from 34 to 180 kg ha, and the fungicide prothioconazole + tebuconazole applied at flag leaf emergence, boot, or early anthesis represented different management programs.

Quantifying the effects of fusarium head blight on grain yield and test weight in soft red winter wheat.

Fusarium head blight (FHB), caused by the fungus Fusarium graminearum, is known to negatively affect wheat grain yield (YLD) and test weight (TW). However, very little emphasis has been placed on formally quantifying FHB-YLD and FHB-TW relationships. Field plots of three soft red winter wheat cultivars-'Cooper' (susceptible to FHB), 'Hopewell' (susceptible), and 'Truman' (moderately resistant)-were grown during the 2009, 2010, 2011, and 2012 seasons, and spray inoculated with spore suspensions of F.

Efficacy and Economics of Integrating In-Field and Harvesting Strategies to Manage Fusarium Head Blight of Wheat.

Fusarium head blight (FHB), a fungal disease of wheat caused by Fusarium graminearum, and its associated toxins, particularly deoxynivalenol (DON), are best managed by integrating multiple strategies. Experiments were established in 2011 and 2013 to evaluate the effects of integrating cultivar resistance, fungicide application, and grain harvesting strategy on FHB index (IND; field severity), DON, grain yield (YLD), and grain test weight (TW; weight per unit volume). Plots of two moderately resistant and two susceptible cultivars were either treated with 19% tebuconazole + 19% prothioconazole or left untreated, and then inoculated with F.

Grain Harvesting Strategies to Minimize Grain Quality Losses Due to Fusarium Head Blight in Wheat.

Fusarium head blight (FHB) reduces wheat grain yield and quality, leading to price discounts due to Fusarium-damaged kernels (FDK), deoxynivalenol (DON) contamination of grain, and reduced test weight (weight per unit volume of grain). Experiments were conducted to determine whether changing combine harvester configurations to differentially remove diseased kernels affected the yield and quality of grain harvested from plots with different mean levels of FHB index (IND, mean proportion of diseased spikelets per spike), achieved with inoculations at different spore densities. Plots were harvested using four combine configurations, with C1 being the standard, set at a fan speed of 1,375 rpm and a shutter opening of 70 mm, and C2, C3, and C4 regulated to fan speeds and shutter openings of 1,475 rpm and 70 mm, 1,475 rpm and 90 mm, and 1,375 rpm and 90 mm, respectively.