In the past week, I have received several calls from producers that are worried about volunteer wheat in the area. We have received a lot of rain in the past month, helping everything, including volunteer wheat grow quickly. If left uncontrolled, this can create many issues for yourself and your neighbors for the 2019 wheat crop. With tight margins and low commodity prices, some of the best insurance you can have for yourself and your neighbors is to control volunteer now to mitigate the chances of severe issues down the road.
Volunteer wheat that is within a half-mile or more of a field that will be planted to wheat should be dead at least two weeks before planting. This will help control wheat curl mites, Hessian fly, and wheat aphids in the fall.
The most important threat from volunteer wheat is the wheat streak mosaic complex. These diseases cause stunting and yellow streaking on the leaves. Controlling volunteer is one of the most effective ways to lower the local risk of the virus complex. Wheat Streak Mosaic can cause severe economic damage.
Hessian flies are another issue that can be mitigated by controlling your volunteer wheat. The flies survive over the summer on wheat stubble. When the adults emerge, they can infest any volunteer wheat that may be present. If there is no volunteer around when these adults emerge, they will not be able to oviposit on a suitable host plant, reducing potential problems.
Volunteer wheat is also the host of barley yellow dwarf virus, and the greenbugs and bird cherry oat aphids that carry it. Destroying volunteer helps reduce the reservoir for the barley yellow dwarf viruses. The aphids pick up the virus from infected host plants and become a carrier that can transmit the disease.
These are just a few of the issues that can arise from volunteer wheat. By controlling your volunteer now if you have not already, you help lower the chances of economic damage to you and your neighbors crop next year. Be a good neighbor, control your volunteer!
Alicia Boor is the agriculture and natural resources agent for Cottonwood District, K-State Research and Extension. Contact her by email at aboor@ksu.edu or call 620-793-1910.
