Corn Diseases: Identify, Scout and Control
Identify
Corn diseases often share similar symptoms, which can lead to misdiagnosis. Use the tools below to help you learn what corn diseases are prominent in your area, how to scout for them and how to manage your corn crop.
General Leaf Diseases of Corn
It’s not uncommon for a corn plant to have several different diseases present at the same time. Multiple diseases present on a corn plant can make disease diagnosis very difficult.
Scout
Timely scouting is important to help protect corn plants from diseases caused by fungal pathogens. Use these tools to guide your scouting and decision making efforts.
Corn Disease Calendar
Keep your calendar and scouting supplies handy this growing season. Use this calendar to learn which corn diseases will be prominent throughout the year.
Corn Seedling Diseases
Many different fungi are responsible for causing seedling diseases in corn. Identification of specific seedling blights and root rots based on symptomatology can be difficult because different pathogens often cause similar symptoms.
Manage
Disease management is necessary to protect yield potential in any crop. In corn, integrated disease management tactics include corn product selection, crop rotation, tillage and residue management, fertility, insect and weed control and fungicide applications.
Managing Corn Diseases
The first line of defense against corn disease is genetic resistance. Products are evaluated for tolerance to diseases that are common in a given geography.
Disclaimer
Always read and follow pesticide label directions, insect resistance management requirements (where applicable), and grain marketing and all other stewardship practices.