Some parts of Michigan received six inches of rain from the weekend and more during the week. According to Stuart Welden, field sales representative for Specialty Hybrids, there has been a lot of variability in terms of rainfall.
“I’ve heard of farmers or customers who have fields that are a mile apart and one field received four inches of rain this year, and the other field has received 12 inches of rain this year,” he said.
Receiving this deluge of rain after it’s been so dry, disease pressure has the possibility of increasing. It’s a good idea to hit the rows and start your assessment.
“The story in one field is likely not true in the other field,” said Welden. “Some of our common [diseases] are brown stem rot, sudden death syndrome, and the big one is white mold—so long as it stays below 82, relatively cool, and we stay damp in the canopy. Unfortunately we do have ideal conditions for that.”
Hot, dry conditions to mute disease growth in is out of growers’ control. However, Welden said they can control what they spray to prevent pathological ailments.
“As far as treatment goes, Delaro or fungicide application, somewhere between R2 and R4, maybe R5 depending on the label you choose and/or Delaro Complete is about all we can do,” he added.
Welden said the story is still being written, but he has a lot of faith in Michigan’s corn and soybean crops for 2021.
“The water is a blessing from above,” he said. “Even though we probably lost some low areas in the field, I think there’s going to be a strong net gain, fence row to fence row. There’s a lot more acres that are going to benefit from the rain, especially for the guys that have got good weed control at hand or on hand already.”
This report was made possible by Specialty Hybrids. For more information, visit specialtyhybrids.com.
