Ground Application of Fungicides for Fusarium Head Blight Management
The NDSU publication Ground Application of Fungicides for Fusarium Head Blight Management was recently updated by Rob Proulx, NDSU extension agriculture technology systems specialist, and Andrew Friskop, NDSU extension cereal pathologist.
Research in the mid- to late-2000s informed NDSU Extension recommendations for proper ground application procedures of FHB suppressing fungicides. However, Proulx and Friskop updated these recommendations by summarizing research from 18 publications. Here are a few key recommendations:
- Use an angled spray of course quality (i.e. droplet size). Wheat and barley heads are vertical targets, which are more challenging to hit than horizontal targets, such as leaves. Research supports that using an angled spray provides equivalent or better coverage of vertical targets compared to vertical spray using identical water volume and spray quality.
- Use a dual-angled spray, with a steeper forward-facing spray and shallower backward-facing spray. Research indicates that a dual-angled spray provides more uniform coverage than a single forward-facing spray, especially as ground speed increases. This improved coverage may be associated with improved disease suppression.
- Higher water volume may provide better coverage. Based on the results from three studies, there was a consistent coverage benefit to using higher water volumes (10-20 gpa). Results showed that sometimes this benefit was associated with higher yields or improved disease suppression.
- To get good coverage using angled sprays, low boom height is essential. Maintaining the lowest operable boom height can help achieve optimum coverage.
- Monitor ground speed effects on boom stability and spray pattern. Studies have shown no negative impact of increased ground speed, up to 12 mph, on the overall spray coverage using coarse angled sprays. Although your spray coverage may become less uniform as ground speed increases. There was no clear impact on FHB control. However, at higher ground speeds, be sure to maintain a stable spray boom and wind turbulence behind the boom will not compromise the spray pattern.
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