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Wet growing season leads to corn diseases in north Iowa and southern Minnesota

A DuPont Crop Protection sales agronomist says a wet growing season in north Iowa and southern Minnesota led to increased disease pressure in corn.

Steve Anderegg tells Brownfield gray leaf spot is one of the foliar diseases that moved in during the summer.

“It didn’t really develop because our temperatures cooled off.  We did have a little bit of northern corn leaf blight as we moved farther north.  Growers were prepared for that because of last year’s season and they treated, so they shut that disease down.”

Eyespot and common rust also damaged corn plants, and Anderegg says yields will be impacted.

“Overall, I think we’re going to have an adequate crop, maybe not a bin-buster like some people are predicting.  But we’ve got a really nice crop growing out there.”

Speaking to Brownfield during the Farm Progress Show earlier this month, Anderegg predicts corn harvest in the area will begin by the middle of September on shorter season hybrids.