Agronomic Service Representative Sudeep Mathew explains the benefits of timely corn fungicide applications at a recent Grow More™ Experience event in Mount Joy, PA.

Warm weather and timely rains aided corn growth in eastern PA this season and have many growers expecting above-average yields. The conditions were also favorable for gray leaf spot, which thrives in areas with high day-time temperatures (typically above 85° F) and moisture.

Visitors at a recent Grow More Experience event in Mount Joy, PA, saw gray leaf spot and the effects of timely corn fungicide applications in grain and silage plots. The key takeaways were:

• If left unchecked, diseases like gray leaf spot, Northern corn leaf blight and anthracnose can cover corn leaves with photosynthesis-limiting lesions. As corn’s ability to conduct photosynthesis prematurely declines, so does its yield potential.
• Fungicides offer preventive and curative disease control but also provide plant-health benefits regardless of disease presence.
  • Corn plants treated with a fungicide show noticeable differences versus untreated plants, both in overall plant health (greener leaves, less disease presence above the ear leaf, stronger stalks, etc.) and ear development (larger ears).
  • Greener, healthier plants heading into harvest maximize yield potential, producing noticeable results on the yield monitor.
• Application timing is important. While VT (tassel) to R1 is the optimal timing for 1-pass fungicide applications, a 2-pass application (V8 followed by VT) showed the most benefit (largest ears). For silage producers concerned about early harvesting and corn height at VT, a single V8 application is still beneficial.
  • Corn treated with a fungicide at V8 alone provides higher quality and more nutritious silage for dairy cows versus untreated corn.

Corn treated with Miravis® Neo fungicide at V8 and again at VT (Left) vs. untreated corn (Right).

Corn ears pulled directly from the fungicide trial plots show clear differences in size. Positions 1-2 show untreated ears; 3-4 show Miravis Neo applied at V8 follow by Miravis Neo applied at VT (tassle); 5-6 show Miravis Neo applied at V8; 7 shows Delaro® applied at VT; 8 shows Headline Amp® applied at VT; 9 shows Miravis Neo applied at VT; 10 shows Trivapro® applied at VT.

Simply put, a corn fungicide program for grain or silage pays dividends in plant health regardless of disease pressure. We recommend Miravis Neo or Trivapro fungicide.

Miravis Neo, our latest corn and soybean fungicide, has 3 powerful active ingredients and sets a new standard in its class for broad-spectrum disease control and plant-health benefits. With 2 out of 3 active ingredients providing plant-health benefits, treated corn plants stay healthier longer, resulting in maximum grain fill and yield potential.

Under high or low disease pressure, Trivapro works hard, fighting rust, leaf spots and blights with long-lasting preventive and curative control and plant-health benefits.

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Product performance assumes disease presence. Performance assessments are based upon results or analysis of public information, field observations and/or Syngenta evaluations.

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