Incidence and Severity of Take-all of Wheat in Indiana. D. M. Huber, Botany and Plant Pathology Department, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907. Plant Dis. 65:734-737. Accepted for publication 29 December 1980. Copyright 1981 American Phytopathological Society. DOI: 10.1094/PD-65-734.

The increased awareness of damage from take-all (root and crown rot caused by Gaeumannomyces graminis var. tritici) following culture of wheat cultivars resistant to Hessian fly (Mayetiola destructor) prompted a survey of Indiana wheat fields. Although take-all was present in all major wheat-growing areas, its severity was influenced by seeding date, rotation, and nutritional status of plants. Environmental conditions, especially those favorable for nitrogen loss, predisposed plants to severe take-all damage. Take-all was a major influence on the productivity and variability of wheat yields in Indiana. Statewide yearly losses in grain yield from take-all were about 4% in 1977, and had been as high as 25% of the potential crop in 1973 and 1976. Based on a wheat price of $0.11/kg, this represents an annual loss to Indiana wheat producers of $6.8–50.6 million. Delayed seeding, crop rotation, and nitrogen management can drastically reduce losses from take-all.