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Fungicide Efficacy for Fusarium Head Blight and Foliar Disease

Fungicide applications at flowering reduced Fusarium head blight, reduced foliar disease severity, and increased wheat yield across Pennsylvania farms over a three-year period.

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Updated:

December 15, 2025

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Wheat field

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Investigators

Olanrewaju Shittu, Graduate Research Assistant
Tyler McFeaters, Education Program Specialist
Paul Esker, Ph.D., Professor of Epidemiology and Extension Field Crop Pathology.

Background

Fusarium head blight (FHB) and foliar diseases reduce wheat yield and grain quality in Pennsylvania. Growers need evidence-based fungicide guidance that aligns with real-world production systems. On-farm participatory research provides locally relevant results that can lead to improved adoption by farmers.

Objective

To evaluate the efficacy of fungicide treatments for reducing FHB, reducing foliar disease severity, and protecting yield using an on-farm participatory approach.

Methods

On-farm foliar fungicide trials were conducted across five Pennsylvania farms (n=11 fields) in 2023, 2024, and 2025. Growers were given the choice to apply either Miravis Ace (pydiflumetofen + propiconazole) or Prosaro Pro (prothioconazole + tebuconazole + fluopyram) at anthesis (Feekes 10.5.1) following label instructions. They also maintained an untreated (unsprayed) area for comparison.

At the soft-dough stage (Feekes 11.2):

FHB was assessed using a 1-m² quadrat, with 50 heads per quadrat evaluated.
Foliar disease severity (%) was recorded at the quadrat level.
Twenty-five quadrats per treatment were evaluated in a zigzag pattern.

Yield was collected at harvest, and grain samples were tested for deoxynivalenol (DON). Trials followed standard farm operations and used grower equipment.

Result

In 2023, the FHB index was low across all fields due to unfavorable weather conditions for FHB infection and disease development (Figure 1). Reduction in foliar disease severity due to fungicide application varied across farms, ranging from −2% to 24%. The negative reduction occurred on a farm with low foliar disease severity (<9%). In 2024 and 2025, a higher FHB index was observed in untreated plots than in treated plots, with fungicide applications reducing the FHB index by 4% to 19% across farms. Foliar disease severity was consistently lower in treated plots, with reductions ranging from 2% to 34%. Yield differences persisted, with treated plots yielding 4%–24% higher than untreated plots across all locations, equivalent to 5 bu/ac to 23 bu/ac (Figure 2). The results indicate that fungicide applications effectively reduce disease severity and protect yield. The participatory approach enhanced the relevance and applicability of the findings, encouraging grower adoption of recommended practices.

Charts showing Fusarium head blight and foliar disease across field trials, 2023 to 2025 — Figure 1. Reduction in Fusarium head blight index (left) and foliar disease severity (right) in fungicide-treated plots compared to untreated plots across 11 fields from five farms in Pennsylvania during the 2023, 2024, and 2025 growing seasons. Fungicide applications at anthesis effectively reduced disease severity, with variability observed across locations and years. The asterisk (*) indicates differences within a location between untreated and treated sections.

Charts showing wheat grain yield across field trials, where pink indicates untreated plots and blue represents fungicide treatments, 2023 to 2025 — Figure 2. Yield (bu/ac) in fungicide and untreated plots across all farms during 2023, 2024, and 2025. Treated plots consistently showed higher yields, ranging from 4% to 24% increase, demonstrating the economic benefit of fungicide applications for wheat growers.

Conclusion

Fungicide applications at flowering effectively reduced FHB, foliar diseases, and DON accumulation and protected yield under real-farm production conditions. Year-to-year variability and differences among farms underscore the importance of monitoring FHB risk and integrating fungicides into an overall disease management strategy.