Skip to main content
Kansas Wheat logo

Main navigation

  • Harvest
  • Growers
  • Consumers
  • Research
  • International
  • News

Secondary Menu

  • Store
  • Events
  • About
  • Contact
  • Fields Forward
  • Eat Wheat
  • Search




Breadcrumb

  1. Home
  2. Growers
  3. Resources
  4. Crop Diseases and Pests
  5. Wheat Streak Mosaic Virus

Wheat Streak Mosaic Virus

K-State Plant Disease Diagnostic Clinic

Upcoming Plot Tours

KSU Fact Sheet

One of the best preventative measures for wheat streak is the control of volunteer wheat early and often after harvest. If volunteer wheat is allowed to stand, it creates a “green bridge”, allowing wheat streak mosaic and wheat curl mites to survive locally. Volunteer wheat should be terminated at least two weeks prior to planting to allow sufficient time for mites to die off.

Wheat streak mosaic is one of the most economically devastating wheat diseases in Kansas and the Great Plains. Control of volunteer wheat is the best way to prevent wheat streak mosaic virus losses in the wheat crop.

In 2017, WSMV caused a conservative $76.8 million in direct losses to farmers. [Read more]

Stop the Streak

There are basically only three ways to control the spread of wheat streak mosaic:

  1. Timely removal of volunteer wheat and other grassy weeds. The best way to prevent the spread of the wheat streak mosaic virus is to remove volunteer wheat and other grassy weeds. Volunteer wheat must be completely dead and dry for two weeks before planting a new wheat crop. Volunteer wheat and other grassy weeds can be removed with herbicides or tillage, but it’s absolutely essential to allow time for herbicides to work.
  2. Avoid early planting; plant after the hessian fly-free date. By avoiding early planting, Kansas wheat farmers are able to avoid times when wheat mite populations are the highest in late summer and to decrease the interval between planting and fall freeze events. "When we say avoid early planting, we’re not talking about planting outside of the window for success of your wheat crop,” said KSU Plant Pathologist Erick De Wolf. “We’re encouraging you to plant on the later side of the recommended planting dates."
  3. Plant varieties with moderate or high levels of resistance to WSMV.
  4. At this point in time, there are no chemical options such as insecticides or pesticides that are effective at controlling the wheat curl mite.

Genetic Resistance

Research is headed down the path of genetic resistance, and Kansas wheat farmers should know that help is on the way. However, there are only a few varieties with moderate resistance at the current time.

The WSM3 gene, which was discovered by Bernd Friebe at the Wheat Genetics Resource Center (WGRC) at Kansas State University, comes from wild relatives of wheat and is resistant to not only Wheat Streak Mosaic Virus, but it also provides protection from Triticum Mosaic Virus and High Plains Mosaic Virus as well. Another benefit of WSM3 is that it is not temperature sensitive, which has been a weakness in the current sources of resistance. This research is being partially funded by Kansas wheat farmers through the Kansas Wheat Commission’s two-penny wheat assessment. The WGRC is housed at the Kansas Wheat Innovation Center in Manhattan.

Recent news

  • Wheat Scoop: WSMV

    A Perfect Storm: Kansas wheat fields hit hard by WSMV outbreak

    May 7, 2025

    “This is by far the worst year I’ve seen for impact of wheat streak mosaic virus in our area,” said Gypsum farmer Justin Knopf.

    Read more

  • Wheat Scoop: Stop the streak

    Wheat Scoop: Stop the Streak! Control volunteer wheat early and often to protect next year’s yields

    July 25, 2024

    Billowing clouds bringing summer showers are a welcome sight for sore eyes following a multi-year drought, but Kansas producers should also keep their eyes on their fields to monitor and control…

    Read more

  • Control volunteer wheat to stop the streak of yield-limiting diseases

    Control volunteer wheat to stop the streak of yield-limiting diseases

    August 24, 2023

    Volunteer wheat is certain to be a significant issue in the upcoming growing season, thanks to the late rains that delayed harvest progress and the high rate of abandoned fields. Hidden among the…

    Read more

  • stopthestreak-sq_0.jpg

    Did the drought stop the streak of WSMV? Don’t count the crop on it, K-State warns

    October 4, 2022

    Persistent drought after harvest and delayed planting could indicate a lower risk of Wheat Streak Mosiac Virus this year. Still, experts caution producers to continue monitoring and managing…

    Read more

  • stop_wsmv_twitter.png

    Control volunteer wheat to stop wheat streak mosaic virus; information packets available

    September 15, 2021

       

    Read more

  • volunteer-wheat-control-2021-f03.jpg

    Control volunteer wheat early to stop the spread of disease next growing season

    August 5, 2021

    Read more

  • wheatstreak.png

    Stop the Spread of Wheat Streak Mosaic Virus by Controlling Volunteer Wheat

    July 30, 2020

    There is an increased risk of Wheat Streak Mosaic Virus in next year’s wheat crop, due to a number of factors. There is no treatment for WSMV, so the best way to stop the spread is by…

    Read more

  • controlling-volunteer-wheat-f03.gif

    Wheat streak mosaic: Early control of volunteer wheat is important

    July 16, 2020

    Read more

  • volunteer-wheat-control-2019-f01.jpg

    Maximize next year's yields by controlling volunteer wheat now

    August 22, 2019

       

    Read more

  • img_20170515_horton_0.png

    Western Kansas hit by Wheat Streak Mosaic Virus

    May 16, 2017

      by Jordan Hildebrand, Program Assistant

    Read more

Pagination

  • Page 1
  • Next page ››

 


Crop Diseases and Pests

  • Fusarium head blight (scab)
  • Identifying Diseases and Evaluating Fungicides
  • Stripe Rust
  • Wheat Streak Mosaic Virus
    • WSMV Historic Losses


Kansas Wheat Commission and
Kansas Association of Wheat Growers

1990 Kimball Avenue, Manhattan KS 66502

785.539.0255

Email us

Email Newsletter

Receive the latest news and updates in your inbox from Kansas Wheat.

Sign Up Today

Stay Connected

Copyright © 2025 • Privacy Policy