FHB Research a Work in Progress

This issue of Prairie Grains contains updates on the Minnesota Fusarium Head Blight (scab) Initiative, and the U.S. Wheat and Barley Scab Initiative. Both of these state and federal research initiatives are focused on finding multi-faceted ways to manage and control this fungal disease in wheat and barley.  These initiatives, along with increased research attention to FHB in North Dakota and South Dakota as well, are a direct result of wheat and barley producer groups who worked to elevate the issue at state and federal levels. 

Last year, FHB could be found in durum as far west as Williston, N.D.  The fungal disease remains a threat to the viability of wheat and barley production in the Northern Plains, and in other wheat-producing areas of the U.S.

As with most fields of science, there are no immediate test tube silver bullets in researching this problem. A look at the progress made in the past decade is still impressive. Before the 1993 epidemic hit, many in the grain industry didn’t even know what FHB or “scab” was.   The knowledge about this fungal disease has since grown considerably, in the science labs and in the field. New varieties with better FHB tolerance such as Alsen from North Dakota State University are beginning to take shape. Lawmakers are to be commended for placing more budget attention on solving this problem over the last few years. It is a priority that must be sustained.