News

Spring rains bring root rot to MO crops

Root rot and diseases are an issue with Missouri field crops, especially wheat. The University of Missouri’s state field crop plant pathologist Kaitlyn Bissonnette says Missouri was about the only state this spring in the continental 48 that had persistent wet and cool weather.

“As a result of those cool, wet conditions we had a lot of seedling disease issues for any seed that got put into the ground.”

Pythium was a common disease, along with root rot, so there was stand loss in corn and beans. She says growers have the option to replant those but not wheat.

“There were big patches of dying plants that started around the time of grain fill and so what it resulted in I s white heads in the field and loss of grain fill in some of those patches.”

Bissonnette says other diseases from Fusarium Head Blight to foliar diseases like Stripe Rust are common in the state’s wheat crops, especially in northern Missouri. She says that means lower yields at harvest even if fungicide was sprayed. If it wasn’t sprayed because of the the weather she says that creates risk for wheat growers, as well.