Disease
Lack of genetic diversity in crops may lead to an outcome worse than COVID-19.
As the costliest pest in the U.S. for soybeans, this breakthrough means there will finally be options to develop varieties with enhanced SCN resistance.
Scientists from the Agricultural Research Service have identified several different species of fungi and bacteria that can stop tar spot from developing.
The online tool from the SCN Coalition is free and easy to use. It’s backed by research done on more than 25,000 university soybean research plots across the U.S.
Now’s the time to start making notes of tar spot pressure, field by field and hybrid by hybrid, says Missy Bauer, Farm Journal field agronomist.
Some farmers in central Illinois are making yield estimates of 250 to 270 bushels per acre. Ken Ferrie says in many of those cases a more realistic estimate, though disappointing, would be in the 170 to 220 range.
Corteva Agriscience introduces Viatude and LumiTreo to address tough disease issues and protect soybean yield potential. Both will be available for use in 2024. There are limited supplies of Viatude this season, as well.
Conditions are right for the disease to break loose in parts of the Midwest. If it does, agronomists recommend three steps farmers can take to prioritize affected cornfields for harvest to minimize yield loss.
Corn growers in 13 states have confirmed tar spot outbreaks now. Iowa leads the pack with the disease reported in at least 36 counties. Indiana is a close second. “It’s starting to explode,” one agronomist says.
Farmers can use humidity charts for their area to assess when the disease could hit their corn crop as well as the optimum time to make a fungicide application, says Missy Bauer, Farm Journal Associate Field Agronomist.