Head Scab Fungicide Timing in Wheat Made Easy!

Fusarium Head Blight (FHB), or Head Scab, is always a risk in Michigan. It has been dry, but a rain event yesterday and some more in the next week could potentially drive scab infections as our wheat approaches flowering. The challenge is determining the best time to make that application of Caramba fungicide.
We all know that Caramba should be applied during the early flowering stage (10.5.1), but it is often difficult to tell when wheat fields are in this stage because of field variation, tillers being behind the main stem, etc...A simple rule of thumb to make a well timed application of Caramba for head scab is to note when 75% of all heads have emerged (cleared the boot). Call this Day 0 and plan to make your Caramba application between Day 2 and Day 8.
Caramba also provides outstanding protection of foliar diseases like septoria, powdery mildew and rusts to help maximize yields, typically 10 bu/acre better than untreated. Powdery mildew is the most prevelant leaf disease in wheat this year and Caramba is rated as "Very Good" on this disease. The high yield potential and risk of disease in this years’ wheat crop makes it worth protecting. Adding a pyrethroid insecticide, like Fastac CS, to protect against armyworm is always a good strategy too.