Poster: Biology & Disease Mgmt: Integrated Pest Mgmt
391-P
Impact of Agronomic Practices and Diseases on Wheat Profitability
J. SALGADO (1), P. Paul (1), L. Lindsey (1), R. Minyo (1) (1) The Ohio State University, U.S.A.
Changes in nitrogen fertilizer rates, row spacing, and fungicide programs have been proposed as strategies for increasing wheat productivity and profitability in Ohio. The main goal of this study was to evaluate the economic benefit of these practices as influenced by diseases. Field experiments were conducted in 2013, 2014 and 2015 using a split-split-plot design with nitrogen rates (N-rate) as whole-plot, row spacing (19 and 38 cm) as sub-plot, and Prosaro fungicide treatments (TRT) as sub-sub-plot. Combinations of these factors represented separate management programs (PROG), and an economic analysis was conducted using yield (YLD), test weight (TW), grain prices and price discounts due to poor grain quality, as well as fertilizer, seed and fungicide costs to estimate net cash income for each PROG. Linear mixed model analyses showed that leaf rust and Fusarium head blight (FHB) were higher and YLD and TW lower in wide than in narrow rows. Leaf rust, YLD, and TW increased with increasing N-rates, but these effects varied with TRT. FHB severely affected the economic benefit of the different PROG. Compared to the standard PROG used in Ohio (100.9 kg N ha-1, narrow rows and untreated), several of the modified PROGs only resulted in greater economic benefit ($3 to 215 ha-1) when FHB levels were low. PROGs with narrow rows plus high N rates (> 134 kg N ha-1) and a Prosaro treatment were among the most profitable, while wide-row PROGs were among the least profitable.