Agronomy Library

Crop Diseases & Fungicides

Paul Gaffney
June 20, 2019

Diligent scouting and application timing are essential for effective disease management. Adding AccuDrop™ to fungicide programs helps lower risk and increases flexibility on timing given our recent weather conditions.

Host + Pathogen + Environment = Disease
The longer those three factors are together, the more diseases will occur.

  • Due to recent weather trends and later planted crops, disease pressure is likely.
  • Scout corn and soybean fields regularly for disease symptoms.
  • More than one fungicide application may be needed in environments with high disease pressure.
  • Corn fungicide applications at V5 can help control early season diseases.

Early Corn Diseases:
Anthracnose leaf blight (V2 – V8)
Eyespot (V6 – R4)
Goss’s Wilt (VE – R6)

Early Soybean Diseases:
Bacterial blight (V2 – R6)
Phyllosticta leaf spot (V5 – R6)
Septoria brown spot (V2 – R6)

  • Foliar diseases are often not an issue until R3 (beginning pod) growth stage.
  • Fungicide application in soybeans differ from corn because there is more leaf development after application.

Diligent scouting and application timing are essential for effective disease management