The overwhelming issue for corn this season has been tar spot. There’s been a couple Pioneer varieties that have been standing up to the yield-robbing disease.
“Some of our better varieties I’ve seen tolerance-wise has been P0075, P0035—both of those coming in AcreMax and a Q,” says Josh Whelan, Pioneer field agronomist. “Some other varieties I’ve seen, 9535 seems to do really well—as well as P0434 on tar spot.”
Whelan adds that Pioneer has been breading plant health in their lines for quite some time.
“They’ve got really good plant health—in year’s past, that extra two points of moisture might have been holding us up at harvest, but this year it’s keeping our yields up,” he says.
He also says that fungicide applications have been fighting the disease as well
For more information about choosing the best tar spot tolerant hybrids for next season, talk with your local Pioneer agronomist.
