Photo Courtesy of the USDA's Website

There is an alert out for the wheat stripe rust disease in Southern Alberta.

Dr. Denis A. Gaudet, Plant Pathologist with the Ag Info Center advises all wheat producers to get out and scout for the disease.

"In Southern Alberta it is primarily winter wheat that is susceptible to stripe rust," he says.

Gaudet says you should spray if you are starting to see the stripes, but after flowering there isn't anything you can do.

"The primary symptoms we see on wheat are the presence of these orange pustules. They are bright yellow and orange and you see them either as individual pustules on the leaf or when it starts it get severe on the leaves you see these long stripes," he says. "If you look at them you will see an orange powder that will come off on your fingers."

The first confirmed case was in the Coaldale area where a field with a 2% incidence of the disease was found.

There was also another case on a field south east of Burdett and it was found with 60% incidence and 30% severity.

This is an early detection of the disease and it means producers with susceptible varieties should be on high alert for stripe rust.

For more information check out the Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development Website