White heads have been appearing in wheat fields around Kansas. There are many causes of white heads, which can sometimes be difficult to distinguish. Sometimes, the white heads are just single tillers scattered throughout part or all of a field, and sometimes, they occur in small-to-large patches. Heads might be completely white starting from the stem or have just partial bleaching, showing a few spikelets with discoloration.
There are many causes of white heads. Here are some of the most common causes and their diagnosis.
Freeze injury to the stem or crown. Depending on the growth stage at the time of a late spring freeze, parts of the head or all of the heads may die and turn white (Figure 1).
In years when the freeze occurs about the boot stage or a little earlier, there can be injury to the lower stem, which then cuts off water and nutrients to the developing head, and that stem simply does not develop. In years when the wheat is in the early heading stage at the time of the freeze, the freeze can damage the heads directly. This year, we did not have any one particular hard freeze that would have led to widespread appearances of white heads, but fields in south central Kansas seem to have more freeze damage than other parts of the state.
Often, wheat on north-facing slopes, ridge tops, or low-lying areas will be most affected by freeze injury. However, freeze injury can also be so severe that it occurs throughout the fields in no particular pattern. Crown rot is another potential problem that can be traced back to freeze injury.
When the crown is damaged by cold temperatures or a freeze, part or all of the tillers can die. If the tiller from a damaged crown forms a head, this head will almost always be white. The crown will have internal browning, and stands will usually be thinner than normal.
Figure 1. Freeze-damaged wheat heads. Photos by Romulo Lollato, K-State Research and Extension.
Hail. Hail can cause a white head to appear when it breaks the connection between the stem and the head (Figure 2). Occasionally, hail can also damage just a portion of a head, and cause that damaged portion to turn white. The hail impact on the heads may also remove spikelets and expose the rachis (Figure 3).
Figure 2. Wheat field in Sumner County showing a high incidence of white heads due to hail damage. Photo taken May 22, 2019, by Romulo Lollato, K-State Research and Extension.
Figure 3. The heads in this photo have had a few spikelets removed due to hail impact and have their rachis exposed. Photo by Romulo Lollato, K-State Research and Extension.
Heat stress can scorch wheat heads and turn them white, usually starting from the top and moving downwards (Figure 4). Depending on the level of heat stress, entire tillers may be scorched in a given plant. This growing season, we have not had severe heat stress to this point, but if we happen to have it in the near future, look for partial discoloration of the top third of wheat heads.
Figure 4. White wheat heads caused by heat stress. Notice the scorched appearance starting from the top of the head and moving downwards. Photo by Romulo Lollato, K-State Research and Extension.
Dryland root rot (also known as dryland foot rot or Fusarium foot rot). This disease, caused by the Fusarium fungus, causes white heads and often turns the base of the plants pinkish (Figure 5). As with take-all, dryland root rot causes affected tillers to turn completely white from the base of the stem. This disease is usually most common under drought stress conditions and is often mistaken for either drought stress or take-all. This growing season, many fields across Kansas are impacted by this dryland root rot.
Figure 5. White wheat head caused by Fusarium root rot. Detail on the right shows pink discoloration inside the stem typical of the Fusarium pathogen. Photo by Romulo Lollato, K-State Research and Extension.
Head scab (aka Fusarium head blight). Wheat is vulnerable to head scab during and after flowering. Rainfall during flowering favors scab development. Symptoms of head scab typically do not appear for 14-21 days after flowering. Symptoms can be restricted to one or few spikelets and can become progressively worse with time. Sometimes, the entire head might be affected (Figure 6). Head scab is most common when wheat is grown after corn or after a wheat crop that had head scab the previous year. Head scab can be identified by looking for pink spores of the Fusarium fungi and a darker discoloration to the rachis of the wheat head. Now is the time to be on the lookout for head scab across Kansas. In some years, the window when symptoms are visable is short as they are often masked when the plants reach maturity.
Figure 6. Wheat heads affected by head scab or Fusarium head blight. Symptoms range from one or few spikelets that turned white, to the upper half or entirety of the head. Photo by Romulo Lollato, K-State Research and Extension.
Take-all. This disease often causes patches of white heads scattered throughout the field. It occurs most frequently in continuous wheat, and where there is a moderate to high level of surface residue. Take-all is also favored by high pH soils, so a recently limed field might also show symptoms. To diagnose take-all, pull up a plant and scrape back the leaf sheaths at the base of a tiller. If the base of the tiller is shiny and either black or dark brown, it is take-all. All tillers on a plant infected with take-all will have white heads. Plants will pull up easily.
Sharp eyespot. This disease is common in Kansas but rarely causes significant yield loss. Sharp eyespot causes lesions with light tan centers and dark brown margins on the lower stems. The ends of the lesions are typically pointed. If the stems are girdled by the fungus, the tiller may be stunted with a white head. Each tiller on a plant may be affected differently.
Wheat stem maggot. Wheat stem maggot damage is common every year in Kansas, but rarely results in significant yield loss. It usually causes a single white head on a tiller, scattered more or less randomly through part or all of a field. One typical symptom of white heads caused by wheat stem maggot is that the flag leaf and lower stem are often green, and only the last internode (peduncle) and head are white. If you can grab the head and pull the stem up easily just above the uppermost node, the tiller has probably been infested with wheat stem maggot. Scout for symptoms of chewing close to the base of the plants, which could indicate that the head has died as function of wheat stem maggot (Figure 7).
Figure 7. White wheat head due to wheat stem maggot, characterized by a white head and peduncle but with a healthy and green lower stem. Detail on the right shows the chewing of the base of the peduncle by the maggot. Photo by Romulo Lollato, K-State Research and Extension.
Premature death. As wheat begins to mature, plants in some areas of the field may have an off-white color similar to take-all (Figure 8). This premature death could be due to drowning, hot dry winds, or other stress. The pattern of discolored heads will often follow soil types or topography and may occur in large patches. The grain will be shriveled and have a low test weight.
Figure 8. Large patches of drowned wheat in central Kansas (upper photo) and south central Kansas (lower photo). Photos were taken May 16 and 17, 2017, by Romulo Lollato, K-State Research and Extension.
Romulo Lollato, Wheat and Forages Specialist
lollato@ksu.edu
Kelsey Andersen Onofre, Extension Wheat Pathologist
andersenk@ksu.edu
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