Скачать или смотреть Wheat School: A stripe rust strategy for 2026 winter wheat

Stripe rust devastated some winter wheat fields across Ontario this year and growers will be in for a fight if the disease has defeated the one resistant gene breeders rely on to protect against what is sometimes called 'yellow death.'

On this episode of the RealAgriculture Wheat School, Peter "Wheat Pete" Johnson and Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Agribusiness wheat specialist Joanna Follings look at the potential challenge ahead and what growers could do to better defend the crop in 2026.

Follings says researchers believe what happened in the province in 2025 was likely the result of a race shift in the stripe rust that inhabits fields in Ontario. That shift, also being seen throughout parts of Europe, the U.K. and Australia, is causing a breakdown of the the Yr15 gene which is responsible for much of the stripe rust resistance that currently protects the crop.

"We don't have it confirmed, but we think that might be what's exactly happening here in Ontario. So those varieties that we always thought were resistant are actually showing up as being very susceptible, and that's why we think it's part of the reason it blew up this year," says Follings.

In the video, Johnson and Follings look forward to the 2026 crop and what growers could do to help mitigate the impact of an evolving disease. The first step is variety selection for planting this fall. They note that growers have traditionally looked to Ontario Cereal Crops Committee (OCCC) performance trials to determine whether a variety is highly susceptible or moderately resistance to stripe rust.

With the suspected race shift, Follings is recommending that growers look only at 2025 OCCC data when assessing a variety's stripe rust defence. Normally, she would point to the importance of multi-year data, but some varieties that typically did well in the trials and offered protection were devastated in 2025.

Follings says growers who plant a highly susceptible variety this fall — based on 2025 ratings — "should absolutely apply a fungicide application" if stripe rust shows up in Ontario next spring. If growers plant a moderately susceptible variety, they will need to scout diligently and monitor fields for signs of infection to determine the best course of action.

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