|
Causal organism - Blumeria graminis
 |
 |
 |
 |
The eradication of volunteer cereals which act as overwintering sources
of
inoculum and disposal of stubble and debris which may be infested with
cleistothecia can be important
in mildew control. High levels of nitrogen fertiliser should be avoided. Later
drillings of wheat tend to suffer more from mildew attack.
Wheat varieties exhibit a wide range of resistance
to the disease and many current varieties have good disease resistance. However
the range of sources of resistance used in most current wheat varieties is
relatively narrow. Some varieties from other European countries can be very
prone to mildew attack.
It is very rare for winter wheat to need fungicide treatment to control mildew in the autumn. Disease control is important on susceptible varieties during late April or early May, particularly if the disease spreads to newly emerged leaves. Most of the triazole fungicides do not give adequate control of the disease owing to the presence of resistant strains of the fungus, and require the addition of a specific mildew fungicide.
