Snow mold in Douglas County is one of the hot topics on Washington State University’s wheat variety crop tours this summer. Tours begin May 29 and run through July 1, throughout Eastern Washington.

“Douglas County is known to have the highest pressure for snow mold in our state, and our plots were hit incredibly hard up there this year,” said Karl Effertz, lead technician, who took over the program in March. “Some farmers saw close to total loss in their fields. We are seeing some re-growth there, but it will be a really good year to show what the diversity in snow mold tolerance is in the germplasm we have in the trials.”

There are different types of snow mold, Effertz said.

“The really, really damaging snow mold that usually results from a very long snow exposure, that’s pretty limited to Douglas County,” he said.

A variation has appeared near Kahlotus.

“It’s pretty incredible the variance you see a couple hundred yards in one direction,” Effertz said. “You’ll see a field that is completely devastated, and then a couple hundred yards, if the snow didn’t drift quite exactly the same way, you can see a field that looks fine.”

WSU’s wheat breeders will discuss efforts to develop tolerance.

“It’s a really complex trait,” Effertz said. “Unfortunately, there’s not a real strong resistance out there, there’s just tolerance that allows plants to survive that initial infection and be able to grow through it in the spring.”

Hot topics

Wheat breeders expect markets and trade will be “big topics of conversation” this year, Effertz said.

What variety growers choose can make a difference for export markets. Falling number is always a trait of concern, Effertz said.

Dry soils in the fall created some uneven emergence, especially in Lind and near Ritzville.
Grassy weed pressure was lower early in the season, but Italian ryegrass is beginning to pop up, particularly in fields near the Palouse, in Pullman, Farmington and Fairfield, Effertz said.

Winter wheat is still small in some areas, waiting for warmer weather to begin growing, he said.

Farmers are interested in CoAXium, in winter, club and some spring lines.

There are some new Hessian fly-resistant lines for spring wheat.

‘Maximum amount of information’

The program trimmed back a few sites from 2024 for this year. Those sites will resume in 2026.

The schedule includes several canola and legume tours.

“I’m from the wheat world and I love cereal grains, but I love a farmer to be profitable,” Effertz said. “If they need to switch over to winter canola, we want to get them that information.”

The goal is to give farmers the ability to make an informed decision, he said.

“That’s what we’re aiming for with these tours, getting the maximum amount of information out to farmers,” he said. “My goal is to run very clean trials and get farmers their data on time.”

Contact Effertz for more information at 701-471-2063 or karl.effertz@wsu.edu

ONLINE:

See the crop tour schedule online at https://smallgrains.wsu.edu/variety/