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Crop specialist says Southern Rust in Nebraska “like I’ve never seen before”

A crop seed specialist says disease has been a challenge for farmers in the western Corn Belt.

Mike Gruener with Wyffels Hybrids tells Brownfield…

“With all the early rainfall, we’re seeing a lot of crown rot in the corn and then in this immediate area right around central Nebraska, Southern Rust is something like I’ve never seen before and it just keeps coming back,” he says.

He says many farmers applied fungicides early enough to limit significant yield loss.  

“I had guys treating it two and three times on the same field trying to slow it down. The fungicides worked great, but it seemed like it would last two to three weeks and then that would be it. You’d have to re-treat,” he says.

He says crown rot occurs above the roots and decays the bottom part of the plant, causing it to die prematurely and it can lead to other diseases like stock rot and Anthracnose

“Once that plant’s dead, then you’re just hoping you don’t have a good wind before you harvest it, because it will definitely blow it down,” he says.

Gruener says because disease is so widespread, it will be important to harvest the corn earlier to prevent further yield loss from windstorms.

Brownfield interviewed Gruener during Husker Harvest Days last week near Grand Island, Nebraska.