Minnesota CropCast - Dr. Kelsey Anderson Onofre: Kansas Wheat, Fusarium Head Blight, and the US Scab Initiative

Abstract

In today’s CropCast, Seth Naeve welcomes, Dr. Kelsey Andersen Onofre, an Assistant Professor and Wheat and Forage Extension Specialist in the Department of Plant Pathology at Kansas State University. Kelsey is joining us through a collaboration with the US Wheat and Barley Scab Initiative, a national multi-disciplinary and multi-institutional research consortium whose goal is to develop effective control measures that minimize the threat of Fusarium Head Blight (scab) for producers, processors and consumers of wheat and barley. USWBSI funds over 150 research projects in 30 American states. You can learn more at scabusa.org. Kelsey discusses the 2023 wheat crop in Kansas and highlights the drought impacts on production. Seth and Kelsey chat about the impact of wheat scab and it’s presence in years like the current one. They discuss the impact of Fusarium Head Blight and the economic impacts. Management through variety selection and fungicide application is possible, but it can be especially challenging for producers in areas with either infrequent challenges from Scab or low yielding environments where intensive management can be economically infeasible. Please join us for another Minnesota CropCast.