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Ear mold resistance important in corn

A plant pathologist is encouraging growers to keep ear mold resistance in mind when planting corn.

Michigan State University’s Marty Chilvers tells Brownfield ear mold pressure was widespread across some parts of the Great Lakes last year.

“The inoculum for the disease is out there in every field, so it just depends what weather conditions come,” he says. “Variety susceptibility is definitely a big part of this.”

Chilvers is collaborating on a multi-state research project testing the effectiveness of different fungicides against the disease.

“Where we got that those rainfall events, we had some pretty heavy mycotoxin or deoxynivalenol DON levels,” he says.

The Crop Protection Network says Gibberella ear rot was the third most impactful corn disease in northern states last year and caused nearly 50 million bushels of yield losses.

AUDIO: Marty Chilvers, Michigan State University