By:Dr. Ripudaman Singh (Special Correspondent ICN Group) & Hemant Kumar ( Agriculture Correspondent ICN Group)
NEW DELHI: Kansas, the top US wheat production state, could face hefty yield losses next year from a virus that Cost it nearly 6 percent of production in 2017, according to a preliminary estimate, as low wheat prices may have deterred farmers from spending money on herbicides.
This year’s outbreak of wheat streak mosaic virus in Kansas was the worst since 2006, according to plant pathologists at Kansas state university. The disease also struck parts of Oklahoma, Nebraska and Colorado.
Amid a global glut of crops that is depressing prices of corn and soybeans, milling-quality wheat has stood out as more vulnerable to shortages through adverse weather or disease.
Earlier this year, high-protein wheat premiums surged as supplies were hit by drought in Australia and the United States. US wheat plantings for 2017 fell to the lowest in century, amplifying the impact of crop diseases such as wheat- streak mosaic that can cause localized shortfalls, forcing grain buyers to widen their search for supplies.
The Kansas wheat Commission, a trade group, estimated losses this year from the virus at about 19 million bushels, valued at $76.8 million. Total Kansas wheat production will be 324.3 million bushels, according to estimates by the US Department of Agriculture.
The wheat-streak virus is spread by tiny mites that thrive on “Volunteer wheat” – plants that sprout from any kernels left on the soil after harvest in June and July.
