Fusarium head blight (also known as “scab”) of wheat is the most damaging disease that regularly occurs in Kentucky and other wheat growing states. Causing both yield and quality losses, this disease caused an estimated annual average loss of over 19 million bushels worth over $105 million in the United States between 2019 and 2023.

 Dr. Carl Bradley and two colleagues from North Dakota State University (Dr. Andrew Friskop) and the University of Idaho (Dr. Juliet Marshall) led the development of a multi-state webinar, known as “Scabinar 2024”, that was focused on educating stakeholders on the biology and management of Fusarium head blight. Scabinar was held on March 13, 2024.

With over 160 people attending the live Scabinar 2024 and many more viewing the recording later (available at https://scabusa.org/scabinar), many stakeholders improved their knowledge on managing Fusarium head blight. Attendees of the live Scabinar 2024 hailed from several states in the U.S. and from four other countries (Brazil, Canada, China, and Nepal). A post-Scabinar 2024 survey of attendees revealed that the majority of attendees were extremely likely to use the information presented in Scabinar 2024 to train or talk to others about the importance of managing Fusarium head blight and that the information presented in Scabinar 2024 was worth 

Funding to support Scabinar 2024 was obtained by the U.S. Wheat and Barley Scab Initiative.