Harvest concerns after a dry growing season

By Osler Ortez, Pierce Paul, Stephanie Karhoff, CCA, Laura Lindsey, and Jason Hartschuh, CCA, Ohio State University Extension

The 2024 crop season has brought extended periods of dry weather for many parts of Ohio, mostly affecting corn during the grain fill stages. Among the many negative effects of dry weather, corn stalk quality can be compromised. Crop stress conditions increase the potential for stalk lodging. For instance, corn stalk rot, and consequently, lodging, are the results of several different but interrelated factors. 

The actual disease, stalk rot, is caused by one or more of several fungi capable of colonizing and disintegrating of the inner tissues of the stalk. The most common members of the stalk rot complex are Gibberella zeae, Colletotrichum graminicola, Stenocarpella maydis and members of the genus Fusarium. The extent to which these fungi infect and cause stalk rot depends on the health of the plant. In general, severely stressed plants are more affected by stalk rot relative to stress-free plants.… Continue reading