Wheat growers are being advised to plan integrated yellow rust management strategies following the significant reductions in resistance ratings for some popular varieties.

These reductions mean extra focus should be applied to other integrated ways of managing the disease, according to a crop production expert.

See also: Popular wheat varieties see dramatic falls in yellow rust ratings

“With little movement expected towards growing winter wheat varieties with greater resistance this autumn, this puts extra reliance on other methods to help counter the disease,” says Mike Thornton, head of crop production at ProCam.

“Especially if fungicide applications next spring end up being delayed.

Mike Thornton © KWS

“We know that yellow rust can flare up rapidly in suitable weather. So we need to be thinking of ways to help make plants more resilient,” he says.

For example, he points out that yellow rust tends to be less of a problem in earlier-drilled winter wheat crops than in later-drilled ones.

So avoiding later drilling is a consideration, although this needs balancing against the increased risks from septoria and grassweeds from early drilling.

“But in addition to drilling date, we also know that plants under stress tend to be more susceptible to yellow rust infection, and there are several ways to help plants become less exposed to stress factors.”

Beginning in autumn, these include getting nutrition right to improve rooting for better access to soil moisture and nutrients.

This is something that growers should be considering anyway, in case of another drought year in 2026, he says.

With this in mind, Mike says potash (K) and phosphate (P) are both important macronutrients for root development.

He recommends using soil testing to assess not only the levels of these and other key nutrients in the soil, but also to assess the levels available to the plant.

“Remember, low soil temperatures as we head towards winter tend to reduce P availability,” says Mike.

Acidic soils also cause P to be locked up. “If there’s a need to improve P availability, consider a pre-emergence application of LibPhos.

This preferentially binds to calcium in the soil, freeing up soluble P that can be absorbed by the plant.”

To encourage rooting at the post-emergence stage, consider a seaweed-based biostimulant or a pidolic acid plus phosphite biostimulant such as Incite.

“In short, we need to think about adopting an intentional approach to building better root systems in autumn.

“Even if you farm in a region that didn’t succumb to the effects of reduced wheat yellow rust resistance in 2025, it’s still important not to be complacent,” he adds.