April 23, 2019 12:49 PM
Nathan Kleczewski, field crop pathologist at the University of Illinois states scouting for tar spot is critical, especially north of I-90 in IL where the disease was most severe. “If you are planting corn in a region that was hit hard by tar spot last season, your risk for disease is elevated compared to areas where disease was sparse or absent,” states Kleczewski. Mitigation tactics include planting corn after soybean or into tilled fields, scouting days/weeks approaching tasseling and applying fungicide if tar spot is observed prior to tasseling. Kleczewski also suggests scouting for grey leaf spot which was the most severe and widespread disease in corn last year. Read more here.
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