Southern rust lesions on a corn leaf at the Rend Lake, IL, Grow More™ Experience site.

Southern rust is not a threat Midwestern growers have to deal with every year. Typically considered a more tropical disease, it’s much more common in Southern states and requires hot, wet conditions to survive.

Those conditions are exactly what allowed Southern rust to thrive at the Rend Lake, IL, Grow More Experience site this summer. In corn trials, Southern rust moved into untreated checks and competitor-treated plots. This disease has significant yield-robbing potential, and some Southern states have seen yield loss of up to 25bu/A on untreated fields.

Southern rust did not appear in the Rend Lake area in 2018, and some question the need for annual fungicide treatments. However, consistent use of fungicides serves as an insurance policy against diseases like Southern rust that make irregular appearances. It should also be noted that the increased practice of no tillage farming in Southern IL keeps a larger amount of organic matter in soil, increasing the chance that diseases are able to overwinter after they move into an area.

 To protect fields from Southern rust, Syngenta offers Trivapro® fungicide, the hardest-working, longest-lasting fungicide on the market. Trivapro provides preventative and curative control, but it also delivers plant health benefits including protecting green leaf tissue to maximize grain fill. Applying Trivapro at VT/R1 will provide best-in-class control of Southern rust, common rust and other leaf spots and blights.

Contact your Syngenta sales representative for help identifying the right weed management plan for your area.

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