In Episode 1 of Corn College TV Season 2, Farm Journal Associate Field Agronomist Missy Bauer answers a farmer’s question as he’s seeing the bottom leaves of his young corn die.
Bauer goes to the field and explains that the corn-on-corn field has anthracnose.
The bottom leaves look like they are dying off, and on close look there are small lesions that are getting larger and killing the tissue.
Bauer explains that this can be common in corn-on-corn fields with wet weather early in the spring. The residue harbors in the old corn residue and then can splash up on the bottom of the young plants. She notes that hybrid selection can help manage this disease pressure.
Watch her in-field explanation in this episode of Corn College TV:
