A Unified Effort to Fight an Enemy of Wheat and Barley: Fusarium Head Blight

TLDR

Wheat and barley are globally critical food and feed crops, with the United States producing large amounts that support domestic use, exports, and trade, and the disease Fusarium head blight (FHB) has caused severe epidemics in North America, notably the 1993 outbreak that devastated spring grains in the Northern Great Plains. This article reviews U.S. FHB epidemics since 1997. The primary goal is to summarize a sustained, coordinated, collaborative research program established after the 1993 epidemic to rapidly develop improved management strategies and outreach.

Abstract

Wheat and barley are critical food and feed crops around the world. Wheat is grown on more land area worldwide than any other crop. In the United States, production of wheat and barley contributes to domestic food and feed use, and contributes to the export market and balance of trade. Fifteen years ago, Plant Disease published a feature article titled “Scab of wheat and barley: A re-emerging disease of devastating impact”. That article described the series of severe Fusarium head blight (FHB) epidemics that occurred in the United States and Canada, primarily from 1991 through 1996, with emphasis on the unparalleled economic and sociological impacts caused by the 1993 FHB epidemic in spring grains in the Northern Great Plains region. Earlier publications had dealt with the scope and damage caused by this disease in the United States, Canada, Europe, and China. Reviews published after 1997 further described this disease and its impact on North American grain production in the 1990s. This article reviews the disease and documents the information on U.S. FHB epidemics since 1997. The primary goal of this article is to summarize a sustained, coordinated, and collaborative research program that was put in place shortly after the 1993 epidemic, a program intended to quickly lead to improved management strategies and outreach implementation. This program serves as a model to deal with other emerging plant disease threats.