Hybrids Can Make a Difference When it Comes to Corn Leaf Diseases!

As we move closer to harvest, now is a good time to scout your fields and assess your hybrids performance.  When doing so, take note of which leaf diseases are present and how much.  For many of these diseases we have very good resistance or partial resistance (tolerance) available.  The image shows two corn hybrids which were inoculated on June 13 with Northern Leaf Blight.  I was really pleased with the amount of disease we had (I'm strange) and it shows nicely how selecting the correct hybrid can reduce your risk to disease.

Figure 1. Northern Leaf blight, on the left Susceptible Hybrid - Infection up entire Plant.
On the right Tolerant Hybrid - Infection slower and less extensive

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