Harvest 2010: Western cuttings show little impact from rust

This photo shows an up-close view of stripe rust fungus reproducing inside a wheat leaf. Jim Huber of Mockonema captured the image by opening a leaf of wheat under a scanning electron microscope early this month.

Evidence that a pervasive infestation of stripe rust fungus would decimate Whitman County’s 2010 wheat crop has not shown up in the summer’s first cuttings.

Initial yields from the few combines that have cut fields in the Hay and Hooper region are testing just above 60 bushels per acre, a good number for the arid area.

“I think the rain did us more good than the rust did us harm,” sai...