As young corn plants begin to canopy, think ahead to another challenge on the horizon. Besides scouting for insects, scouting for early-season foliar diseases is an important way to get ahead of potentially costly crop damage.
Weather plays an important role in early-season disease. Not surprisingly, most foliar corn diseases thrive in warm, damp weather. If inclement weather occurs in your area or your climate is naturally humid, be on the lookout. This moisture, combined with escalating temperatures, is an accelerant to fungal spores that overwinter in crop residues. Rain splashes on the soil giving spores the lift they need to infect young corn plants.
Two key disease threats should be on your mind early in the season.
1. Northern Corn Leaf Blight (NCLB) is one of the most common and damaging foliar corn diseases out there. According to the Crop Protection Network, NCLB contributed to the loss of 56.7 million bushels of corn last season. Look for long, elliptical or cigar-shaped lesions that are grayish-green or tan. To learn more about this disease and how to treat it, visit our NCLB resource page.
2. Gray Leaf Spot (GLS) is also one of the top five damaging foliar corn diseases, according to the Crop Protection Network. GLS contributed to the loss of 80.5 million bushels of corn. That’s like wiping an entire county of corn production off the map in strong corn growing regions. When scouting, look for small pinpoints with yellow halos that become rectangular brown to gray spots. To learn more about GLS, visit our resource page now.
It’s all about the CO2
The primary threat of foliar corn diseases is all about leaf damage. Foliar diseases can permanently kill leaf tissue. In a rapidly growing corn plant, that loss of “breathing” room can set a field back in growth and yields. Work with your agronomist and local crop protection retailer to define a threshold of disease damage that may warrant a foliar fungicide application. Learn more about the foliar fungicide options from FMC today, including multiple formulations with the most systemic active ingredient the market, flutriafol.
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