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Tar spot is here to stay

A regional agronomist at AgriGold says farmers should select hybrids that have a higher resistance to tar spot in 2025.

West Central Illinois based Brett Leahr says the disease is here to stay.

“We had stuff this year, even on rotated acres, we saw it come in early,” he says. “So, I know it’s living in the soil, hyper tolerances, every hybrid isn’t the same. We see a lot of differences in fungicides. How they control the disease, how they suppress it in the long term.”

He tells Brownfield weather variability contributed to early season challenges. 

“It came in super early, a thousand GDUs, and that is incredibly early,” he says. “That disease is supposed to come in typically late, so that created a whole new set of challenges with a fungicide timing perspective and a standability late perspective of what we’re gonna do with this crop.”

Leahr encourages growers to contact their local seed representative to discuss a tar spot management plan for next year.

AUDIO: Brett Leahr, AgriGold

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