Sick Corn

A local friend sent some pictures of his corn today.  It's that typical black lesion under the ear leaf we've been seeing now more each year.  You know what I think the cause of it, read my past blogs about it.  Take a look at Will's Interesting Links on the UK Farming Page, but you can spend a day on them!

My friend wondered what it was.  I didn't give him the big spiel, I just told him to get hold of some Procidic and get 2 ounces on per acre.  There is a whole recipe of chemistry being used on this problem in some of my friend's fields.

"The following would be my BMP (Best Management Practice)

1 qt/acre of household ammonia

2 ounces/acre Procidic

8 to 16 ounces/acre non EDTA micro nutrient package

4 ounces/acre Hydrogen Peroxide

1 lb/100 gallon of solution dry ice

16 ounces/acre Molasses"

This problem used to be isolated in GMO fields but now it has moved into non GMO corn also.  Scout your fields and look for this problem.  It is easy to find anywhere I go.

Every person who has asked me what are you scouting for gets this answer:  In corn, look for those black lesions on the stalk below the ear leaf.  When they leak plant milk, yields go down.  Corn will probably die immature.  Look for pink leaves as it senesces.

I would send stalk samples to the University of Nebraska Plant Pathology Lab or Michigan State here on the east side of the states.  Both labs know how to diagnose Goss's Wilt or similar diseases.

Are you looking at healthy green corn?

Ed Winkle