By Scout Nelson
Fusarium head blight, also called wheat scab, remains a major disease concern for wheat growers in North Dakota. The disease can reduce crop yield and grain quality while increasing deoxynivalenol, or DON. High DON levels can lead to dockage or even rejection when grain reaches an elevator. Fungicides can help reduce the effects of wheat scab, but application timing remains very important.
Wet field conditions can make that timing difficult. Wheat needs fungicide treatment during a short flowering period when the crop is most at risk. If fields are too wet, ground sprayers may not be able to enter without creating ruts or damaging the soil and crop. Spray drones may offer another way to apply fungicides when regular equipment cannot enter the field.
Study Compares Two Application Methods
A field study at the NDSU Carrington Research Extension Center compared ground and drone fungicide applications for Fusarium head blight in hard red spring wheat. The study was conducted by Dr. Karn’s Lab and included three treatments.
The treatments included an untreated control, fungicide applied with a ground sprayer, and fungicide applied with a Hylio AG-230 spray drone. Researchers used Miravis Ace at the same product rate for both application methods.
The ground sprayer applied the fungicide at 15 gallons per acre, while the spray drone used 5 gallons per acre. The drone application was made 12 feet above ground level while traveling at 10 miles per hour.
The side-by-side comparison provided local field information about how the two methods performed under North Dakota growing conditions.
Both Methods Reduced Wheat Scab
The preliminary results showed that both fungicide application methods reduced Fusarium head blight compared with the untreated crop.
The untreated control had an FHB index of 11.56%. The ground application lowered the index to 2.83%, while the drone application lowered it to 2.50%. These results represented a numerical reduction of about 75% to 80% compared with the untreated control.
Both treatments also reduced disease incidence and severity. The results showed that applying fungicide at the proper time can help protect wheat during the flowering period.
The findings are important because wheat scab control depends not only on the fungicide selected but also on getting the treatment onto the crop during the right growth stage.
Yield and Test Weight Show Small Gains
The study also measured grain yield and test weight. The untreated crop produced 61.3 bushels per acre. The ground application produced 63.7 bushels per acre, while the drone application produced 63.9 bushels per acre.
Test weight also was slightly higher where fungicide was applied. The untreated control had a test weight of 57.42 pounds per bushel. The ground treatment reached 57.62 pounds per bushel, while the drone treatment reached 57.88 pounds per bushel.
These differences were numerical results from the study and are part of the preliminary findings. More research can help show how consistently these results occur under different weather and field conditions.
Drones May Help During Wet Conditions
One important advantage of spray drones is their ability to operate without driving a large sprayer through the field. This can be useful when wet conditions prevent ground equipment from entering a field.
In wet years, waiting for fields to dry can cause producers to miss the narrow flowering window for wheat scab treatment. A delayed application may reduce the ability of a fungicide to protect the crop.
A drone may allow producers to apply a treatment when soil conditions are too wet for traditional ground equipment. This can help producers consider another option when protecting wheat at the correct growth stage.
However, spray drones are not intended to replace ground sprayers in every situation. Producers still need to consider application rate, coverage, weather, field conditions, product labels, and other factors before choosing an application method.
More Research Can Support Producers
The study is helping develop local information about spray drones and fungicide applications in North Dakota wheat. Comparing the two methods side by side can provide useful information about application settings, spray coverage, and disease control.
The research also can help producers better understand when a drone may be useful as part of a wheat disease management plan.
The preliminary findings suggest that both ground sprayers and spray drones can reduce wheat scabs when fungicide is applied at the proper time. The drone treatment produced disease results similar to the ground treatment in this study.
Further research can provide more information about how different drone settings, spray volumes, weather conditions, and crop stages affect disease control.
Photo Credit: gettyimages-seregalsv
Categories: North Dakota, Crops, Wheat