Is your seed prepared for some of the challenges to come in 2023? Maybe it’s tar spot, maybe its corn rootworm. These are just some of what you need to consider ahead of the next planting season.
Agronomist Ryan Gentle is an agronomy manager with Wyffels. He previews what’s to come based on current monitoring programs of pests and disease, with a focus on Illinois and southern Wisconsin. He starts by reflecting on this year’s harvest.
“I’ve been talking to a lot of growers… that had some field record yields,” Gentle said, noting it was an exceptional growing season. “The only complaint is that it was a little bit slow to dry down. But that’s usually a good thing… that means we’re adding bushels.”
He adds that there were lessons learned in 2022 that will help in the 2023 growing season particularly around tar spot and fungicide use.
“Fungicides still pay,” Gentle says. “We probably learned that we need to protect that plant from tar spot and into dent stage even if it comes in late. If we have corn that’s not at dent yet, we may need to spray.”
He explains that weather maps can tell you if tar spot is going to be a problem. He looks at weather maps in July and August and pinpoints places that have had 6-9 inch rains in a 10-15 day time period. A wet canopy or leaf wetness is how tar spot thrives.
Gentle says Wyffels is the industry leader in corn rootworm monitoring, and can predict how intense corn rootworm will be the following year. Southern Wisconsin is still the hotspot for corn rootworm, he says. He recommends soil insecticide to tackle resistance issues.
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