Agronomist encourages growers to scout for seedling diseases

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Agronomist encourages growers to scout for seedling diseases

AgriGold Agronomist Mitch Greve says Ohio farmers continue to experience a wide range of weather conditions this planting season.   

“Overall I would say Ohio is a little behind the five-year average. These timely rains in spots keep putting farmers out of the field for a day or two,” he says. “As you get up in the northwest corner of the state, farmers are severely behind and keep getting rain which is keeping them out of the field. The central part of the state had a small planting window from April 27 through about May 2 where some farmers were able to get crops in the ground, but now they’re dealing with some crusting issues as they can’t catch a rain to help break that corn and soybeans through that crust. As you get through west central and southwest Ohio, farmers been on pace to finish by the end of next week if all goes well. They’re catching timely rains to help break corn through the crust.”

Advice he has for growers is to continue scouting fields.

“As we catch these rain delays that keep us out of the field for a day or two, it’s very important to be out there looking and scouting the crop you do have in the ground. Two things I’m specifically looking for are early season seedling blights such as pythium and overall crusted-in corn,” he says. “Step one is to not just do a window-pane view. I encourage producers to get out of the truck, walk beyond end rows, and look at low spots where there’s water because that’s where pythium typically is and walk up to high ridges and make sure corn is not crusted in.”

He encourages farmers to be on the lookout for signs of pythium.

“Make sure that mesocotyl is still white. That white mesocotyl is going to let us know that pythium has not infected that corn yet and it’s off to the races. That mesocotyl is really that bridge between getting that carbohydrate content from the seed reserve up to that young seedling. So, if that mesocotyl is brown or wilted at any point then that’s going to let us know we’ll have some damping off and pythium is impacting that young corn seedling,” he says. “Another observation if you look at that corn plant in B1 or B2 growth stage, that apex should have a nice curve to it. If that corn plant is drooping or hanging down then we might want to dig that plant up and see if we have some pythium issues.”

There is a new mode of action to help growers combat pythium.

“AgriGold has partnered with Syngenta and we are utilizing a seed treatment called Vayantis, a brand-new seed treatment to market. We’ve actually been able to look at it for a year or two now and from what we can tell in wet spots, Vayantis is a fungicide seed treatment that will be a life saver,” he says. “Here in Ohio I would consider us a hot spot for pythium in our heavy-based clay soils. They’ve been able to test this and out of all the strands of pythium out there, nothing has been able to break down that chemical compound. So, we’re very excited to have this on board and utilize this seed treatment to help combat pythium and damping off issues we have across the state year in and year out.” 

He says farmers should also continue to work with local agronomists to identify problems and find solutions throughout the growing season.

“I think it’s extremely important to have a relationship with a local agronomist or sales representative to be your partner in the field. You want someone you can lean on to help identify issues or make sure the plan is going as desired,” he says. “We preach that we want farmers to set plans through the winter on seed selections, fertility, and management and then if there’s anything that makes us deviate from that plan, you want to have a trusted advisor to help you make the best-informed decision you can.”

Greve’s coverage area includes Ohio and southeast Michigan.

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Audio: Mitch Greve

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