By Stephanie Hoff
The latest crop progress report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture shows about 66 percent of Wisconsin soybeans are in the ground. Badger Crop Doc Damon Smith says growers should already be getting ready to monitor white mold.
Smith, a professor and Extension specialist with the Department of Plant Pathology at UW-Madison, says it can be hard to think about white mold management this early in the season. White mold shows up mid- to late season. He says there are important decisions that can be made now.
“Variety choices have already been made, but tilling and planting populations are still something that we can focus on in terms of white mold management,” he says. “So, if you struggle with white mold, maybe no tilling and then dropping those planting populations down to 100,000 seeds per acre — that can get you ahead.”
White mold is the second-most important disease in the Midwest, Smith notes. This is due to the favorable environment. Wisconsin’s moist, humid conditions — a river to the West and a Great Lake to the East — create the perfect environment for the disease. The loss potential from white mold can be devastating.
“In some cases, once we get up to those damaging levels — 50 percent of plants getting infected — we can see 15, 20, 25 bushel losses on a per-acre basis,” Smith says.
He’s also watching for seed and seedling rot due to a wet spring.
“We came off a really dry fall and winter, and now we’ve turned a bit wet, so if you’ve already put seed in the ground, hopefully you’ve got some seed treatment on those soybeans,” Smith advises. “The cooler conditions are starting to move on, so I’m hoping that those beans will start to jump out of the ground. But if those beans do sit there, keep an eye on things.”
“Ag Forecasting” To Replace “Sporecaster”
Smith says growers are probably familiar with Sporecaster, a smartphone app that helps farmers decide how to mitigate white mold. He says Sporecaster is phasing out because there’s a new, more well-rounded and accessible tool for growers called Ag Forecasting.
Ag Forecasting — Agriculture Forecasting Advisory System — is going to be a soybean grower’s go-to for all things white mold monitoring. It’s a tool accessible with any browser and runs any corn or soybean tool that Extension offers.
Bookmark the platform on your browser by visiting https://badgercropdoc.com/. Smith says more details will follow soon.
Extension is offering another interactive decision tool for fungicide efficacy through the Crop Protection Network.
“Put in the crop you’re after and the disease and the table will autopopulate for you,” Smith says. “Right now is a good time to be doing that, if it’s raining and you can’t be planting, check out some of those tools to see what you might be looking for… especially fungicide for white mold.”
Leave a Reply