Four Tips for Managing Crop Disease: Protecting Your Yields Amidst Falling Commodity Prices
In the face of declining commodity prices, the temptation to cut back on disease management in crop farming can be strong. However, lower input costs could lead to significant losses if crop diseases aren’t managed effectively. Here’s how Managing Crop Disease safeguard your corn yields even when economic pressures mount.
1. Understand Disease Risk
The risk of crop diseases varies from year to year and from field to field. Diseases such as gray leaf spot, Northern Corn Leaf Blight, and Diplodia leaf streak are common in the Corn Belt, while tar spot and Southern rust are growing concerns.
![When to apply fungicide for corn diseases](https://ceoafrica.co.ke/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Sample-images-of-dataset-A-Healthy-B-Maydis-Leaf-Blight-C-Turcicum-Leaf-Blight.jpg)
Tyler Harp, a technical fungicide manager for Syngenta Crop Protection, explains, “Southern rust doesn’t overwinter in the U.S.; it blows in from South and Central America, so the conditions there determine how much rust and spores get up here.” He emphasizes the importance of staying vigilant, especially with diseases like tar spot, which can overwinter in local fields.
Weather plays a crucial role in the spread of corn diseases. For instance, 2023’s dry conditions led to low disease pressure in many regions, but this year’s early rains might change the scenario. “When we start to see those conditions develop, hopefully, that means we’re getting some rain,” says Ryan Bryant, a herbicides technical development manager for UPL. He stresses the need to be mindful of weather conditions and their association with various diseases.
2. Scout Early and Often
Early and frequent scouting is essential to catching diseases before they become severe. Bryant recommends thorough scouting during the early reproductive stages to monitor disease progression. Timely decisions regarding fungicide applications can save fields from devastating yield losses.
Tar spot, for instance, can explode in cooler, humid conditions when leaves are exposed to wetness for extended periods. “When we start to see the stars align for that type of situation, that’s when we really need to be on our game and get a timely fungicide application made before we see significant incidence of disease,” Bryant advises.
When scouting, evaluate the entire plant, as different diseases may appear on different parts. Root digs can also reveal hidden diseases like crown rot.
3. Understand Fungicide Value
Cutting costs is important, but not at the expense of losing fungicide benefits. Camille Lambert, a technical service manager for FMC, emphasizes, “Our goal, especially in a year like this, with commodity prices lower, is to educate people about the importance of knowing what’s in their program and what value it’s bringing to their farm.”
Modern fungicides offer more than just disease control; they also provide plant health benefits such as stress mitigation. For example, Syngenta’s new plant-health fungicides contain carboxamide and SDHI chemistry, which can help mitigate stress from heat and drought. Data from 550 field trials across the Corn Belt showed a profitable return on investment 80% of the time when using Syngenta’s biofungicide.
4. Manage Resistance
To prevent pathogen resistance, it’s essential to use a diverse approach. Harp explains, “When you put all the selection pressure on one active ingredient, that generates pathogen resistance.” Today, two- and three-way mixtures are used, spreading selection pressure among different modes of action to minimize resistance.
![The economic impact of corn disease on yield](https://ceoafrica.co.ke/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/new-tools-needed-to-pr.jpg)
Using robust rates, rotating active ingredients, and incorporating novel modes of action can further limit disease resistance.
Crown Rot Concerns
Crown rot has become a growing concern across the Midwest. The crown acts like a liver for the corn plant, filtering out heavy metals and transporting water and nutrients. When infected, the plant becomes susceptible to secondary diseases, leading to significant yield losses.
Sammy Leting advises more root digs, especially if planting a susceptible hybrid, to understand the disease pressure in your fields and adjust future management strategies accordingly.