Septoria Brown Spot, Frogeye Leaf Spot Among Troublesome Diseases In US In 2013

Despite the weather odds stacked against them, growers who applied BASF fungicides to their corn and soybean acres this season experienced superior disease control and Plant Health benefits.

A wet spring created a difficult start to the growing season for growers in 2013. Increased disease pressures and crop stress due to extreme weather pattern shifts — including rare diseases — spread in many new regions, challenging growers.

Diseases including Septoria brown spot and frogeye leaf spot in soybeans, and common rust and Southern rust in corn, spread to new regions throughout the U.S.

“The substantial amount of wet weather early in the season also caused more disease, leading to late-season foliar diseases like rust and Northern corn leaf blight in many areas,” said Caren Schmidt, Ph.D., Technical Market Manager, BASF.

Corn and soybean growers found that timely applications of Priaxor fungicide and Headline AMP fungicide provided many Plant Health benefits to their crops, including disease control, growth efficiency and stress tolerance.

Priaxor fungicide and Headline AMP fungicide deliver superior disease control. Controlling disease allows for greater growth efficiency, including better utilization of nitrogen fertilizer and more efficient plant photosynthesis.

Priaxor fungicide provides long-lasting protection, post-infection disease control and consistent performance in soybeans and pre-tassel corn, delivering higher yields and high-quality crops. In soybeans, growers found the best response after applying Priaxor fungicide during the R3 growth stage.

Even with extreme rain in 2013, soybean growers throughout the Midwest found that applying Priaxor fungicide increased growth efficiency and disease control as well as greener plant leaves.
“Soybeans and other crops can become stressed in wet weather situations,” said Brianne Reeves, Ph.D., Technical Marketing Specialist, BASF. “Stressed plants have less energy to use in the reproductive stages and, as a result, both photosynthesis and growth efficiency are negatively impacted. However, with Priaxor fungicide, growers decreased the effects of disease pressure and crop stress and harvested the most out of every acre.”

A sequential fungicide program is a key part of many high-yield, total-management programs in corn. BASF recommends sequential fungicide applications for growers managing no-till, corn-on-corn and/or continuous corn acres to minimize the stress caused by more extreme disease pressures.

“Priaxor fungicide, which provides another mode of action for row crops, can deliver continuous protection and consistent performance against a broad spectrum of diseases,” said Schmidt. “Priaxor fungicide followed by Headline AMP fungicide in a sequential fungicide program engages three modes of action to suppress troublesome corn diseases, including anthracnose, gray leaf spot, Northern corn leaf blight and common rust.”

In planning for the next growing season, growers can continue to take control of their fields by proactively and preventatively applying BASF fungicides.

“Applying Priaxor fungicide on soybeans and Headline AMP fungicide on corn is the best way to ensure a successful growing season, increase yield potential and combat any potential disease issues in growers’ fields,” Reeves said. “Greater disease control helps lead to increased Plant Health, higher yields, more efficient harvests and greater profits.”