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With all the talk of tar spot, don’t forget about southern rust

A technical service representative with BASF says many corn growers have southern rust on their minds after the disease impacted most of the Midwest last year.

Katie Stratham, who’s based in Kansas, says the pathogen is blown north on weather fronts each season, and this year is no exception.

“Southern rust can reproduce so very quickly.”  She says, “It can be anywhere from as few as three days to as long as 21 days. So, we’ve had a lot of conversations about making sure that we still time the fungicide application correctly for the plant.”

She tells Brownfield…

“Years and years of data show that VT to R1 timing is really a sweet spot for getting that fungicide on and protecting our plant.”  She says, “As it’s just beginning to fill the grain on the ear. So, when people choose to wait, they might sacrifice some of the control on the front end.”

Stratham says some fungicides offer higher use rates that can offer added protection in high disease pressure environments.

AUDIO: Katie Stratham – BASF