New corn disease protection product unveiled

JOHNSTON, Iowa — A new seed treatment that will provide corn seedlings with enhanced protection against rhizoctonia, fusarium and pythium will be available beginning with the 2023 planting.

“Growers who chose Pioneer brand corn hybrids will benefit from Lumiscend Pro fungicide seed treatment, a new and exclusive corn product from Corteva Agriscience that provides an additional layer of protection against rhizoctonia,” said Brad Van Kooten, Pioneer seed treatment category leader.

Lumiscend Pro seed treatment, part of the LumiGEN seed treatment portfolio, will be partnered with ipconazole fungicide seed treatment and L-2012 R biofungicide, as well as inpyrfluxam, ethaboxam and metalaxyl.

This new combination for Pioneer brand corn forms a protection package with two modes of action for pythium, three modes of action for rhizoctonia and fusarium, and one mode of action against head smut.

New Ingredient

Inpyrfluxam is a new active ingredient for corn that’s exclusive to Corteva.

“Inpyrfluxam is kind of the new secret ingredient, the new secret sauce that we’re adding to Lumiscend Pro. We believe inpyrfluxam is the best molecule out there for rhizoctonia protection,” said Van Kooten at a recent media event.

In addition to improved disease protection, growers also can expect to see better yield consistency as they encounter higher disease pressure in fields.

Lumiscend Pro fungicide seed treatment provides yield advantages over the current industry standard seed treatments, according to Van Kooten.

“Across all environments, Lumiscend Pro fungicide seed treatment delivers a consistent one bushel per acre yield advantage, while in higher disease environments, the advantage jumps to three bushels per acre in multiyear trials,” he said.

Even Emergence

The goal is to achieve even stands from day one.

“The data would say anywhere from 10 to 20 bushels can be lost by our customers if they get an uneven stand, and so we really want them to get off to a great start,” Van Kooten continued.

“Farmers have one shot a year to get a good stand and that sets the stage for their entire success throughout the growing season. We can’t see the full potential of our germplasm and all of the technology advancements unless we get off to a great start.

“From a seed perspective, that seed is going into a cold, nasty, adverse environment. That environment in the soil could be cold, it could be wet, it could be hot, dry, it could be a variety of conditions. In many cases we ask that seed to sit in the soil a long time before it’s able to emerge, and we want to make sure that seed is protected.”

Pythium, fusarium and rhizoctonia can work in combination, depending on environmental conditions, one could be worse than another in a give year. The disease pressure can also vary throughout the field.

“They’re probably going to have pockets or areas in that field where there’s more disease pressure than in other areas of the field. Our goal is to alleviate those concerns and give the broadest protection we can. If there’s a pocket of fusarium in that field, they’re going to be well covered. If there’s a pocket of rhizoctonia in that field, they’re going to be well covered by our seed treatment portfolio,” Van Kooten said.