gunsmokex
Cool Member
Posts: 62
Joined: Fri Jul 12, 2013 4:13 am
Location: South Dakota zone 4b

Noticing some spots of common corn rust on my leaves

Just started noticing some spot one a few leaves of my corn, its very limited so far to the northeast corner of my crop but I'm thinking its probably going to get worse. From what I understand its a humidity and moisture problem? It probably has to do with the fact that I incorrectly spaced my rows of corn too close together. Just curious if there is anything I can really do about it? I'll post some pics once I get my ipad mini figured out.

imafan26
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Posts: 14379
Joined: Tue Jan 01, 2013 8:32 am
Location: Hawaii, zone 12a 587 ft elev.

If rust appears after corn has started to fill, it will not affect production. It will be a problem when the corn is still young. Fungicides containing mancozeb used early can control it. The product I know that contains mancozeb is Dithane. The label is in the link below. It is important to read and follow label instructions.

Cultural controls would be to plant rust resistant varieties, time plantings to avoid the cool wet weather and planting early in the season if you live in a northern climate. Since spores blow in on the wind it is difficult to control the disease coming from outside.

If the infections are severe and you want to avoid having to spray, then crop rotation or using disease resistant cultivars are the best solution. Rust can also be found in alternative hosts, so alternative hosts also need to be controlled. Newer strains of rust have arisen that make it much harder to control the infections without resorting to sprays. Fungicides work best sprayed as a preventive, most fungal infections, once established are difficult to control. Most of the resistant corn varieties that are resistant are GMO.



https://www.dowagro.com/usag/prod/060.htm
https://vegetablemdonline.ppath.cornell. ... n_Rust.htm

gunsmokex
Cool Member
Posts: 62
Joined: Fri Jul 12, 2013 4:13 am
Location: South Dakota zone 4b

Thanks imafan, I appreciate your post. I think truly my downfall was planting the rows to close together thus not allowing the leave to dry out completely. That and my watering at night occasionally when it was young and then the cold and dewy nights we've had up here lately. It truly was a weird spring though here, very wet all of the crops were put in late and the people that put their gardens in the ground early or "normal" time, their veggies literally rotted in the ground, there was just hardly enough sunlight to get anything to grow, nothing but saturated wet soil. So I planted all of my stuff a little later.

All in all the corn looks pretty good espcecially the outside rows.

I don't intend to use any fungicide, pesticide or herbicides on my corn though. I plan on getting true organic seed stock from Albert Lea. The corn I got this year I have no idea what strain it is or where it came from lol. Only that one is bi-licious and the other is golden both 85-90 day corn. Next week its going to warm up so I think I'll be getting some ears ready. We'll see how it turns out.



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