Sponsored

Fungal diseases in corn, like tar spot, are advancing. “It’s out there. I would say Illinois had tar spot from north to south this year,” said Phil Krieg, Syngenta Agronomy service representative based in Southern Illinois.

Tar spot, a relative newcomer to the Corn Belt’s disease lineup, is changing the way that growers and agronomists look at fungicides on corn.

To be a star, you have to have a great supporting cast. For soybean plants, fungicides play that role.

When is it important to have a strong herbicide program for corn? Every year is the obvious answer. But when should a corn herbicide program to kill weeds and protect the crop and yield move further up the priority list?

One of the best views of how a farm’s herbicide performed is a windshield view. A combine windshield view, that is.

In Tony Zerrusen’s territory in southern Illinois, beans matter. It might be soybeans, green beans or soybeans followed by soybeans, but every type of bean has a farmer’s livelihood behind it.

In Pioneer field agronomist Brian Schrader’s territory in east-central Indiana, ‘maters matter and Plenish is a priority.

Oftentimes, the window from the combine reveals agronomic challenges that may have been overlooked during the growing season. If goosenecked or downed corn is found in a field, it may be an indicator of corn rootworm damage

By harvest time, there is very little to be done to combat corn rootworm other than planning how to manage the billion-dollar pest next season. Integrated pest management practices are key to keeping next year’s corn rootworm larvae from damaging cornfields.

When it comes to change, many growers may be hesitant to move from a tried and true system that has proven results. Growers who previously used the DEKALB Asgrow Xtend soybean lineup were no different.