Broken only by the occasional storm, the hot, dry weather beats down on the central Great Plains and the York, NE, Grow More™ Experience site. For corn fields about 1 week away from tasselling, these weather conditions can set growers up for record yields. Timely applications of corn fungicides can help growers protect this record potential and secure maximum yields at harvest.

Current disease pressure at the York site is low, but Northern corn leaf blight (NCLB) and southern rust have made their annual appearances in the area. Weather conditions can’t be counted on to keep these diseases at bay. Irrigation networks in fields create artificial patches of moisture where pathogens can lurk. Flash thunderstorms can also cause disease pressure to spike locally, on top of wind and flood damage.

Southern rust does not make a significant appearance in NE every year, but winds from the south have persisted this season and brought the disease north. While presence and pressure vary from year to year, this disease can devastate unprotected fields and growers should watch their fields carefully as the summer rolls on.

Southern rust leaves distinctive, bright orange or yellow pustules on the tops of corn leaves. Growers should not wait for these pustules to cover their fields: 4 or 5 pustules on a corn leaf is enough to warrant a fungicide application. Southern rust can quickly overwhelm unprotected leaves.

To scout for NCLB, growers should look for cigar-shaped lesions on leaves in the middle of corn plants. These lesions are typically 1-3” long. While 1 lesion per every 10 plants may only warrant monitoring, 1 lesion per plant should trigger a fungicide application. Preventive applications are the best way to keep disease presence in fields low throughout the season.

Foliar fungicide applications can make a difference in protecting corn fields from NCLB, Southern rust and other diseases. Miravis® Neo fungicide, containing Adepidyn® technology, one of the highest-performing SDHI molecules available, delivers consistent, broad-spectrum disease control. Plus, it provides plant-health benefits, resulting in greener plants for a longer period of time, to help your crops produce more bushels more often.

With higher potency and long-lasting performance, Trivapro® fungicide also helps prevent diseases like southern rust from starting and shuts down existing infections, resulting in higher potential yield. Trivapro also delivers plant-health benefits including improved water-use efficiency, stronger stalks and quicker canopy closure to prevent weed growth.

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