Fungicide seed treatments, properly applied, are highly recommended and can be considered as inexpensive stand establishment insurance. Seed treatments minimize losses from seed decay, seedling blights, and seed- and soilborne diseases, and for small grains are the only means of combating the smut diseases. Slurry applications or commercial liquid applications provide the best adhesion and most uniform coverage; thus, they provide the most effective control. Problems with loose smut control are often due to poor fungicide coverage and higher levels of smut in seed or soil after a disease-favorable year. Hopper box treatments may not provide the coverage necessary to ensure adequate control. Most commercially available seed is sold with a seed treatment already applied. The effectiveness table below lists the most common treatment products and their performance against the most common diseases of wheat and barley in our region.
