White mold could be a problem in 2021

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White mold could be a problem in 2021

An agronomist warns soybean farmers who experienced white mold pressure in 2017 and 2019 they better be prepared to manage it again this year.

Rick Swenson with North Dakota-based Peterson Farms Seed says the plant disease is nothing new for many Midwestern growers.

“But with what ’17 and ’19 brought, in a corn and bean rotation I an concerned about ’21 especially.”

He tells Brownfield weather this spring and summer will be a factor.

“But we’re set up. Some areas had some of the worst white mold we’ve ever seen, and it was the same spots in (both) ’17 and ’19. So be thinking about those areas now, that’s the biggest thing to me is identifying where we did have problems and going from there.”

Swenson says there are several ways to mitigate white mold which include lowering populations, checking standability and lodging ratings, and possibly selecting shorter season maturities.  He suggests planting an early maturing bean in problem areas will help the crop finish before August humidity hits.

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