Full text of the Technical Guidance on Pest and Disease Prevention and Control for Autumn-Sown Wheat issued by the Ministry of Agriculture

Technical Guidance on Pest and Disease Prevention and Control for Autumn-Sown Wheat

Doing a good job in pest and disease prevention and control at the wheat seedling stage can effectively reduce the pest and disease base and delay the occurrence of pests and diseases. The Department of Crop Production of the Ministry of Agriculture, together with the National Agricultural Technology Extension and Service Center, organized relevant experts to formulate this year's guidance on pest and disease prevention and control for autumn-sown wheat, in response to this autumn's climate change trends and based on a summary of experience in wheat seedling-stage pest and disease prevention and control in recent years.

I. Overall Requirements

Adhere to the principles of giving priority to prevention, integrated management, classified guidance, region-specific measures, and cost reduction with efficiency improvement; carry out in depth the action to achieve zero growth in pesticide use; move the prevention and control threshold forward; and, on the basis of a rational layout of disease-resistant varieties and optimized agricultural prevention and control measures, with autumn-sown wheat chemical seed dressing or seed coating as the focus, effectively prevent and control the occurrence and harm of soil-borne and seed-borne pests and diseases such as sheath blight, cyst nematode, and smut; reduce the base of migratory and epidemic pests and diseases such as wheat aphids, stripe rust, and fusarium head blight; delay and mitigate the degree of pest and disease occurrence and harm at the wheat seedling stage; and lay a solid foundation for pest and disease prevention and control throughout the entire wheat growth period.

II. Regional Priorities

Each wheat-producing region should determine the key pests and diseases for prevention and control based on the characteristics of pest and disease occurrence and harm in recent years. The Huang-Huai-Hai wheat region should focus on sheath blight, root rot, take-all, smut, cyst nematode disease, yellow mosaic virus disease, underground pests, and weeds, while also controlling seedling-stage rust, powdery mildew, aphids, and small brown planthopper and other pests and diseases; the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River wheat region should focus on sheath blight, smut, and aphids, while also controlling small brown planthopper, powdery mildew, and underground pests; the Southwest wheat region should focus on wheat stripe rust, while also addressing powdery mildew, wheat aphids, wheat mites, and underground pests; the Northwest wheat region should take wheat stripe rust, powdery mildew, stinking smut, and underground pests as the main targets for control, and the Xinjiang wheat region needs to also address snow mold leaf blight and other diseases.

III. Prevention and Control Technologies

(1) Select resistant (tolerant) varieties. In the Southwest wheat region, disease-resistant varieties such as Mianzamai 168, Mianmai 37, Mianmai 39, Mianmai 41, Mianmai 43, Mianmai 45, Chuanmai 42, Chuannong 18, Xikemai No. 2, Emai No. 18, Yunmai No. 2, Qianmai 15, Zhoumai 17, and Wanmai 53 may be planted; in the southern Huang-Huai wheat region, rust-resistant and slow-rusting varieties such as Zhoumai 17, Yumai 34, Yumai 49, Yumai 69, Xinmai 19, Xinong 979, and Xiaoyan No. 6 may be planted; in the Northwest wheat region, rust-resistant (tolerant) varieties such as Xinong 889, Xinong 558, Xinong 529, Yanmai 9710, Xinong 668, Shanken No. 6, Tianxuan 54, Tianxuan 57, Tianxuan 58, Zhongliang 32, Zhongliang 34, Zhongliang 35, Ningchun No. 4, Ningchun No. 15, Ningchun 16, Yinong 18, Yinong 61, and Xinmai 2 may be planted. In areas of the Southwest, southern Huang-Huai, and Northwest where stripe rust overwinters and oversummers year after year, high-quality, disease-resistant, high-yield varieties should be selected according to local conditions. In areas of the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, the Jianghuai region, and southern Huang-Huai where fusarium head blight frequently occurs, high-yield and high-quality varieties with a certain degree of disease resistance (tolerance) suitable for local planting should be selected, avoiding blind cross-regional introduction of high-yield but susceptible varieties. In areas of the Huang-Huai region with severe cyst nematode recurrence, varieties such as Taikong No. 6, Zhongyu No. 6, and Xinmai 11 may be planted; in areas where wheat yellow mosaic disease occurs, varieties such as Xinmai 208, Yumai 70-36, Fanmai No. 5, Yumai 70, and Zhengmai 366 may be planted.

(2) Strengthen agricultural control measures. Implement agronomic measures such as fine land preparation, sowing at appropriate soil moisture, appropriate time, and appropriate rate, as well as post-sowing compaction and timely irrigation, striving for full emergence and strong seedlings in one sowing to enhance the plant's ability to resist pests and diseases. In areas of the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, the Jianghuai region, and southern Huang-Huai where fusarium head blight frequently occurs, implement straw crushing and deep plowing return to the field, and try to avoid corn, rice, and other crop straw being left exposed on the soil surface, to reduce the pathogen base and ease the pressure of prevention and control at the heading and flowering stages; in the Northwest stripe rust oversummering areas, before sowing or before seedling emergence after sowing, manual removal or spraying of herbicides should be adopted to clear volunteer wheat seedlings and field-edge weeds, reducing the probability of autumn seedling infection; in the Southwest, southern Huang-Huai, and other stripe rust overwintering areas, implement appropriate delayed sowing to shorten the autumn pathogen infection period as much as possible and reduce the initial infection pathogen base; in the Jianghuai and Huang-Huai areas with severe sheath blight recurrence, early sowing should be avoided, the sowing rate should be appropriately reduced, field weeds should be removed in a timely manner, and drainage should be carried out promptly after rain. In areas of the Huang-Huai region with severe cyst nematode recurrence, the two-time compaction measures after sowing and at the autumn seedling stage should be promoted as a priority.

(3) Vigorously promote chemical seed dressing for autumn sowing. In areas with severe soil-borne diseases, use tebuconazole, difenoconazole, fludioxonil, difenoconazole · fludioxonil, and other agents for coating or seed dressing to control root rot, sheath blight, take-all, and other diseases, while also controlling seedling-stage smut and other diseases. In areas with severe underground pests, use phoxim or chlorpyrifos for seed dressing, or imidacloprid suspension seed coating agent for coating, to control wireworms, white grubs, mole crickets, and other underground pests, while also controlling cyst nematode, seedling-stage aphids, wheat mites, and other pests. In stripe rust oversummering and overwintering areas, use triadimefon, tebuconazole, and other agents for coating or seed dressing to prevent seedling-stage stripe rust and powdery mildew, while also controlling smut in the later stage. In areas where take-all occurs, use difenoconazole suspension seed coating agent and silthiofam (Moncut) suspension concentrate for coating. In addition, in areas where multiple diseases and pests occur together, according to the local main pest and disease types, corresponding fungicides and insecticides may be compounded for coating or seed dressing, and the active ingredients of each single agent in the compound should be roughly the same as when used alone.

IV. Prevention and Control Measures

(1) Deploy and arrange early. All winter wheat regions should fully understand the role and significance of doing a good job in wheat autumn-sowing pest and disease prevention and control, deploy and arrange wheat autumn-sowing pest and disease prevention and control work early, strengthen implementation of responsibilities, increase policy support, scientifically formulate plans, and refine work measures, achieving unified mobilization, unified organization, and unified implementation, to ensure that all work is carried out effectively and in an orderly manner.

(2) Precise guidance and services. Agricultural departments at all levels should organize experts to formulate technical plans, comprehensively analyze the occurrence of local soil-borne, seed-borne, and seedling-stage pests and diseases, determine the key targets for prevention and control during the wheat sowing period, make good adjustments for surpluses and shortages of pesticides, seed-dressing equipment, and prevention and control machinery, and guide farmers in scientific prevention and control. During the critical period of winter wheat autumn sowing, organize capable forces to go deep into the production front line, adopting forms such as staying at designated points and covering designated areas, and entering villages and households, to carry out “face-to-face” and “hand-in-hand” technical training and guidance services, ensuring that prevention and control technical measures are implemented in the fields.

(3) Advance unified prevention and control. All localities should give full play to the positive role of specialized crop pest and disease control service organizations, vigorously implement the “five unifications” of prevention and control: unified organization and mobilization, unified technical plans, unified pesticide supply, unified application timing, and unified prevention and control actions, effectively raising the level of organization of prevention and control and comprehensively improving the effectiveness, efficiency, and benefits of prevention and control.

(4) Strengthen publicity and guidance. Make full use of television, radio, newspapers, and other publicity media contacts to vigorously explain the significance and effects of chemical seed dressing for pest and disease prevention and control in autumn-sown wheat, popularize prevention and control technologies, and summarize and publicize good experience, good practices, and good models, creating a favorable public opinion atmosphere for doing a good job in pest and disease prevention and control. At the same time, strengthen the reporting of information related to autumn sowing progress and chemical seed dressing, and promote the smooth development of wheat pest and disease control work in autumn and winter.