Dr. Wegulo’s research focuses on management of agricultural diseases, with a particular focus on wheat.

Dr. Wegulo earned his undergraduate degree from Davidson College and both a Master’s and a Ph.D. in Plant Pathology from Iowa State University. Before coming to the University of Nebraska in 2005, he worked at the University of California, Riverside. There his focus was on diseases that impact ornamental plants. He was promoted to full professor in 2014.

Wheat is a hugely important crop in the Midwestern United States, both for food production and for economic security. Fungal diseases impacting the leaves of wheat cause dramatic loss of usable crop, estimated at $5 billion lost per year. Although wheat that is genetically resistant to fungal infection would be cheap and easy to make, these varieties of wheat have not grown well in the varied environment of the Great Plains. Thus, there is interest in chemical fungicides that can be sprayed on the wheat instead.

The impacts of these fungicides have been studied on specific fungi, but in a recent paper, Dr. Wegulo and others looked at the bigger picture. They asked about the impacts of fungicide application on all fungal diseases together, as well as the effects on the amount of grain harvested, and the profits made off of that wheat. Over the course of two years, they compared two sites in Nebraska, which differed in elevation, humidity, and precipitation. Overall, they observed that a single spray of fungicide increased the amount of wheat yielded by ~40%, increased the profits made by ~$200 per hectare, and generally produced healthier-looking wheat. While all of their samples showed positive benefits from fungicide treatment, different locations, years, and strains of wheat showed different degrees of improvement.

This information will help wheat growers make better-informed choices to maximize their crop yield and profits.