Authoritative forecast: This year, the total area affected by major wheat diseases and pests is expected to reach 840 million mu‑times, with moderate to severe outbreaks.

According to a joint consultation and analysis conducted by the National Agricultural Technology Extension Center, involving experts from the national plant protection system and research and educational institutions, it is projected that in 2020… Major wheat diseases and pests nationwide are generally expected to occur at a moderate-to-heavy level. ， The affected area totaled 840 million mu-times. Among these, disease outbreaks occurred on 460 million mu, and pest infestations affected 380 million mu.

Fusarium head blight poses a high risk of severe or greater outbreaks in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, the Jianghuai region, and the southern Huang-Huai wheat-growing areas, with an estimated affected area of 90 million mu; preventive and control measures will need to be applied across more than 150 million mu‑times. Stripe rust is expected to occur at moderate to severe levels in the Jianghan Plain, the Han River basin, the southern Huang-Huai region, and parts of the southwestern and northwestern wheat-growing areas, covering approximately 60 million mu. Aphids are likely to infest most of the Huang-Huai–Hai wheat-growing regions, while sharp eyespot and powdery mildew are widespread in the Jianghuai and high-yield wheat areas of the Huang-Huai region. The fall armyworm may invade the southwestern wheat-growing areas and the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, causing damage. To effectively curb major wheat diseases and pests and ensure stable yields and increased incomes in 2020, this plan has been specially formulated.

I. Prevention and Control Objectives

Key preventive and control measures should focus on the “four diseases and three pests,” namely wheat scab, stripe rust, sheath blight, powdery mildew, aphids, grain‑sucking insects, and wheat spider mites. The coverage rate of prevention and control measures has reached over 90%, with the proportion of integrated pest management implemented through professional, unified services exceeding 40%. High-yield demonstration plots have achieved full coverage of such integrated management. The overall efficacy of integrated pest management is above 85%, and losses due to diseases and pests are kept below 5%. Chemical pesticide use has been significantly reduced, with green pest management coverage surpassing 35%; national- and provincial-level green pest management demonstration zones and demonstration counties have attained full coverage of green pest management practices.

II. Prevention and Control Strategies

Adhering to the principles of tailoring measures to local conditions, implementing zoned management, and providing category-specific guidance, we adopt a control strategy that integrates green pest management with chemical control, combines emergency response with sustained management, and links professional, unified pest control with community‑based, collective efforts. By focusing on priority regions, major pests and diseases, and critical periods, we implement scientifically sound prevention and control measures, emphasize pesticide‑use safety, promote green pest‑management practices, reduce pesticide application while effectively managing pest and disease risks, and ensure both wheat yield and quality are safeguarded.

III. Prevention and Control Areas

(1) North China Wheat Region. This primarily includes parts of the northern winter wheat region excluding Northeast and Northwest China—namely, areas south of the Great Wall in Hebei, central and southeastern Shanxi, and the municipalities of Beijing and Tianjin. In Shanxi and the central‑southern parts of Hebei, the main pests are wheat aphids, wheat spider mites, and grain‑sucking insects, with attention also given to wheat stripe rust and Fusarium head blight; in other areas, wheat aphids and grain‑sucking insects are the primary concerns, with supplementary control of wheat spider mites and leaf rust.

(2) The Huanghuai Wheat Region. This area primarily includes the entirety of Shandong Province, most of Henan Province, the central and southern parts of Hebei Province, the northern Huai River region of Jiangsu and Anhui Provinces, the Guanzhong Plain in Shaanxi Province, and the southwestern part of Shanxi Province. The main pests and diseases to be monitored are wheat stripe rust, Fusarium head blight, sheath blight, powdery mildew, wheat aphids, wheat midges, and wheat spider mites, with supplementary attention given to leaf rust and armyworms.

(3) The wheat-growing region of the middle and lower Yangtze River. This includes most of Jiangsu, Anhui, Hubei, and Hunan provinces, all of Shanghai and Zhejiang, as well as the Xinyang region of Henan. The focus is on wheat scab, stripe rust, sheath blight, powdery mildew, and wheat aphids, with attention also given to wheat spider mites and the potential damage caused by the fall armyworm.

(4) Northwest Wheat Region. This area primarily includes Gansu, Ningxia, Xinjiang, western Inner Mongolia, and parts of eastern Qinghai. The main pests and diseases are wheat stripe rust and wheat blossom midge, with secondary concerns being wheat powdery mildew, wheat aphids, and wheat spider mites.

(5) Southwest Wheat Region. This includes most of Guizhou, Sichuan, and Yunnan, southern Shaanxi, southeastern Gansu, and western Hubei. The primary concerns are wheat stripe rust and powdery mildew, with secondary attention to wheat scab, wheat aphids, and wheat spider mites; also monitor for potential damage caused by the fall armyworm.

IV. Prevention and Control Measures

In accordance with the technical guidelines for the integrated management of major wheat diseases and pests throughout the entire growth cycle, as well as the recommendations for comprehensive control of Fusarium head blight across all developmental stages, it is essential to identify priority targets at each growth stage, coordinate efforts, and implement integrated pest management. During the green-up to jointing stage, the focus should be on controlling net blotch, stripe rust, and stem base rot, while selectively treating aphids, powdery mildew, and wheat spider mites during the seedling stage. At the heading and flowering stage, the primary emphasis is on preventing and managing Fusarium head blight and grain‑sucking insects, with attention also given to rust and powdery mildew. In the later growth stages, strengthen control of wheat aphids and adopt integrated application strategies to achieve multiple benefits with a single spray. According to surveys conducted in the 2019 autumn–winter season, stripe rust is showing an epidemic trend in the southwestern winter‑breeding region; all localities are urged to monitor the situation closely and implement timely control measures to prevent large‑scale outbreaks and associated damage.

V. Prominent Technologies for Green Pest Control and Professionalized Unified Pest Management

(1) Integrated management techniques for the full‑cycle control of wheat stripe rust. Adopt a strategy of “primarily green disease management, supplemented by emergency control”: on the basis of selecting disease‑resistant varieties and implementing sound cultivation practices, strengthen monitoring and implement timely interventions—contain an outbreak as soon as it is detected, and extend control measures to the entire field once an area is affected. This year, in regions such as Southwest China, northwestern Hubei, the Jianghan Plain, southern Henan, and the Guanzhong region of Shaanxi, winter‑pre‑infection with stripe rust has been observed early, with numerous foci and a wide geographic spread, posing a significant risk of spring‑time epidemic. In early spring, comprehensive, specialized emergency control measures should be carried out to rigorously manage disease incidence and prevent large‑scale outbreaks that could cause severe damage.

(II) Prevention Techniques for Wheat Fusarium Head Blight. Fully leverage varietal resistance and agricultural practices to prevent the occurrence of Fusarium head blight. In the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River and southern Huanghuai region, closely monitor weather forecasts during the heading and flowering stage; if forecasts predict prolonged cloudy and rainy conditions, dew formation, or frequent fog, initiate coordinated, large-scale disease management at the early flowering stage, applying fungicides as soon as flowers appear to ensure proactive prevention.

(3) Integrated pest and disease management techniques during the grain-filling stage. The period from wheat heading to grain-filling is a critical phase during which multiple diseases and pests—such as Fusarium head blight, stripe rust, powdery mildew, leaf rust, wheat aphids, and cereal midges—simultaneously occur and cause damage. Appropriate fungicides and insecticides can be scientifically mixed and applied in an integrated spray program to control both diseases and pests, achieving multiple benefits with a single application. In areas where cereal midges are prone to recurrent outbreaks, make full use of the residual efficacy of the pesticides by advancing the timing of control measures and applying treatments at the onset of peak adult emergence. Commonly used pesticide types are listed below:

Pesticide: Imidacloprid, acetamiprid, pymetrozine, thiamethoxam, deltamethrin, lambda‑cyhalothrin, cypermethrin, fenvalerate, dichlorvos, pirimicarb, abamectin, matrine, and others. Among these, imidacloprid and acetamiprid should not be applied alone; they should be appropriately mixed with low‑toxicity organophosphate pesticides for combined spraying.

Fungicide: Triadimefon, epoxiconazole, tebuconazole, hexaconazole, propiconazole, difenoconazole, imazalil, flutriafol, carbendazim, thiophanate‑methyl, cyproconazole, Bacillus subtilis, jinggangmycin, prothioconazole, fluopyram, prothioconazole‑propiconazole, cyproconazole‑tebuconazole, and others.