Managing for Profit

Dealing with tar spot on corn

Tar spot can wreak havoc on corn performance. Although a relatively new disease – first identified about six years ago – it’s not hard to find. “They appear like specks of tar splattered on the top of the leaf surface,” says Joe Bollman, Corn Product Manager for NK Seeds, adding that growers have struggled to manage tar spot ever since its discovery in the Eastern Corn Belt. And although its spread is slow, it’s destructive.