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Posts From Tom Allen, Extension Plant Pathologist

Could Weather Limit Effectiveness of your “Tassel Shot” Application?

🕔14:36, 25.May 2018

As the Mississippi corn crop approaches tassel stage, weather has fluctuated from dry to rainy conditions during recent weeks. Thus, how may this affect how the corn will respond to mid-season application of various management inputs, including nitrogen fertilizer or other products? This article will discuss factors that could dramatically affect corn response.

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Soybean Disease Update: May 19, 2018

Soybean Disease Update: May 19, 2018

🕔11:55, 19.May 2018

Soybean root diseases have started to be observed in the Delta. Over the past week several calls have been received regarding the presence of southern blight. Dead seedlings along with white mycelial growth below the soil line is a common observation in fields where southern blight occurs.

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Reminder: 2018 Agronomic Scout School Dates

Reminder: 2018 Agronomic Scout School Dates Updated

🕔12:00, 18.May 2018

Mississippi State University will be hosting 2 scout schools this year. We have transitioned over the years to make these trainings much more diverse than insect pest alone. This year we will be including insects, disease, fertility, and herbicide symptomology.

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2017 Soybean OVT Foliar Disease Ratings: Maturity Group V FINAL

2017 Soybean OVT Foliar Disease Ratings: Maturity Group V FINAL

🕔17:01, 30.Mar 2018

The MSU MG V OVT soybean locations were evaluated for disease during the 2017 season. Multiple diseases were rated at multiple locations and are provided in this post by herbicide trait. Cercospora blight, Septoria brown spot and target spot were the three most commonly encountered diseases during the season.

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2017 Soybean OVT Foliar Disease Ratings: Maturity Group IV FINAL

2017 Soybean OVT Foliar Disease Ratings: Maturity Group IV FINAL

🕔16:51, 30.Mar 2018

The MSU OVT soybean locations were evaluated for disease during the 2017 season. Multiple diseases were rated at multiple locations and are provided in this post by herbicide trait. Cercospora blight, Septoria brown spot and target spot were the three most commonly encountered diseases during the season.

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Cotton Target Spot: 2017 Lucedale OVT Disease Rating Results

Cotton Target Spot: 2017 Lucedale OVT Disease Rating Results

🕔11:42, 27.Jan 2018

Observations of target spot were made in the MSU OVT location conducted in Lucedale, MS during 2017. Included in this blog post are the observations of disease on leaves as well as the percent defoliation from all 52 varieties included.

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2017 North MS Maturity Group IV and V Variety Trial Report

2017 North MS Maturity Group IV and V Variety Trial Report

🕔10:46, 13.Dec 2017

A Maturity Group IV and V variety trial was conducted in Verona, MS at the NMREC during the 2017 season. Yield and disease data are included in the attached report for all entries contained in the trial (RoundUp, Conventional and LibertyLink).

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2017 Soybean Stem Canker Inoculated Variety Trial Evaluations

2017 Soybean Stem Canker Inoculated Variety Trial Evaluations

🕔09:29, 24.Nov 2017

The cultivars contained in the Mississippi State University Official Variety Trial (OVT), as well as a few additional cultivars, were field-evaluated for their susceptibility/resistance to stem canker. Trials were conducted in Stoneville with toothpick-inoculated plants during the 2017 season. Tables contain the average of the field observations (on a 0-9 scale) as well as an assessment of resistance to stem canker (R, MR, MS, S) based on the evaluations conducted.

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Soybean Stem Canker: 2017 Visual Observations from the Clarksdale OVT

Soybean Stem Canker: 2017 Visual Observations from the Clarksdale OVT

🕔09:13, 19.Nov 2017

Over the past several weeks numerous comments have been made regarding the validity of the harvested yield data from the Clarksdale OVT location. Several varieties were observed to be “poor performers” based on low yield. The Clarksdale OVT was observed to contain severe stem canker in multiple variety entries. The current blog post contains comparisons between the visual observations of stem canker (0-9 scale) and harvested yield from the 2017 MSU OVT entries at the Clarksdale location.

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2017 Soybean Variety Demonstration Program Summary

2017 Soybean Variety Demonstration Program Summary

🕔12:56, 3.Nov 2017

The MSU Extension Soybean Variety Demonstration Program is conducted using a set of varieties with proven performance.  These varieties are grown in a production setting on various soil types and management systems around the state. Demonstration sets for both maturity

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Soybean Harvest Aids and other Late Season Management Considerations

Soybean Harvest Aids and other Late Season Management Considerations

🕔11:02, 19.Aug 2017

Information included in this blog post should aid with making harvest aid decisions.

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Protecting Soybean Seed Quality

Protecting Soybean Seed Quality

🕔11:01, 19.Aug 2017

Information contained in this blog post to aid in the numerous questions regarding seed quality. Seed quality is a moving target and one that is primarily dictated by environment.

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Foliar Soybean Disease Update: August 19, 2017

Foliar Soybean Disease Update: August 19, 2017

🕔10:50, 19.Aug 2017

The disease situation in MS soybean fields has certainly increased over the past 7-14 days. Active aerial web blight, Cercospora blight, soybean rust, and target spot remain the most commonly observed diseases over much of the production area.

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Cotton Foliar Diseases (updated/corrected)

Cotton Foliar Diseases (updated/corrected)

🕔11:21, 12.Aug 2017

Unsightly spots on cotton leaves are becoming more common as the year progresses.  There are a number of things that can cause cotton leaf spotting including herbicide injury, disease, insect feeding (i.e. spider mites), or numerous other factors.  The focus of this

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Soybean Rust Update: August 5, 2017

Soybean Rust Update: August 5, 2017

🕔08:34, 5.Aug 2017

Yesterday, light soybean rust infection was observed in Noxubee County, MS in soybean plants beyond the R5.5 growth stage. The specific information in this blog post should serve as an update to the soybean rust disease situation as well as including some general guidelines with regards to potential disease management scenarios.

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Soybean Target Spot: Information Regarding Susceptible Varieties Observed During 2016

Soybean Target Spot: Information Regarding Susceptible Varieties Observed During 2016

🕔15:41, 24.Jul 2017

Numerous soybean varieties were observed to be severely affected by target spot during 2016. Symptom expression on the specific varieties may be difficult to tell apart from other diseases. Some of the varieties were not commercially available for the 2017 season. However, in some rare situations some of these varieties may be planted and will likely respond this season in a similar fashion to what was observed during 2016 as a result of the continued wet weather during the 2017 growing season.

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Soybean Disease Update: July 22, 2017 (UPDATED 7/23/2017)

Soybean Disease Update: July 22, 2017 (UPDATED 7/23/2017)

🕔06:38, 22.Jul 2017

Several foliar diseases have increased in incidence throughout MS over the past several weeks. Root diseases, such as sudden death syndrome, taproot decline and one field of stem canker continue to be observed in the production system. The current foliar disease situation is outlined in this particular post.

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MS Agricultural Industry Council – Row Crop Update

MS Agricultural Industry Council – Row Crop Update

🕔22:41, 19.Jul 2017

You are welcome to attend the Row Crop Update at the Mississippi Agricultural Industry Council Conference. The conference is hosted at Perdido Beach Resort in Orange Beach, Alabama on Wednesday, July 26.

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Cotton Disease Update: July 6, 2017 UPDATED (7/10/2017 @ 6 PM)

Cotton Disease Update: July 6, 2017 UPDATED (7/10/2017 @ 6 PM)

🕔06:47, 6.Jul 2017

Bacterial blight of cotton has shown up in younger cotton in east and west MS. At present, 10 counties have been observed to contain bacterial blight cotton. To date (July 6), target spot has not been observed in the MS cotton crop.

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Soybean Disease Update: July 1, 2017

Soybean Disease Update: July 1, 2017

🕔11:13, 1.Jul 2017

The soybean disease situation continues to change throughout MS depending on growth stage situations in each field. Over the past week root diseases have been commonly observed. The first soybean rust of the season was observed in southwestern MS on kudzu.

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Corn Disease Update: June 24, 2017

Corn Disease Update: June 24, 2017

🕔15:32, 24.Jun 2017

Increased reports of disease in the corn crop in MS have been made over the past week. Normally, as corn matures, the incidence and severity of corn diseases observed with increase. Presently, common rust, Diplodia leaf streak, northern corn leaf blight, and southern rust can all be observed in our corn production system; however, southern rust has only been observed on an extremely limited number of acres to this point in the season.

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Navigating Fungicide Active Ingredients

Navigating Fungicide Active Ingredients

🕔07:17, 23.Jun 2017

Over the past several years, fungicide pre-mix products have dominated the marketplace. Keeping up with the specific chemical classes within each product can present a challenge. Included in this blog post are some information to aid in making fungicide decisions.

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Keys to Field Identification of Common Versus Southern Rust in Field Corn

Keys to Field Identification of Common Versus Southern Rust in Field Corn

🕔17:38, 21.Jun 2017

Diagnosing common and southern rust in the field can oftentimes be difficult. Subtle differences between the two diseases can occur at different parts of the growing season as well as sections of the crop canopy.

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Soybean Disease Update: June 18, 2017

Soybean Disease Update: June 18, 2017

🕔19:16, 18.Jun 2017

Limited soybean diseases have occurred throughout the MS soybean production system. Observations of Septoria brown spot and taproot decline have been quite common this season. Lesions that result from herbicide injury have also been commonly observed, but should not be cause for concern.

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Considering the R3/R4 Automatic Application in Soybean: Time to Apply Two Modes of Action Instead of One

Considering the R3/R4 Automatic Application in Soybean: Time to Apply Two Modes of Action Instead of One

🕔11:15, 3.Jun 2017

Over the past week calls have started to be received regarding the automatic fungicide application in soybean. On-farm, large plot trials were conducted during 2015 and 2016 to assess the benefit of several different fungicide products and to reevaluate the automatic application timing. At present, we believe that a mixed mode of action fungicide, or one that provides more than one mode of action would be more beneficial than the stand-alone strobilurin (QoI) fungicide application that has become popular over the past decade.

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