Fungicide resistance makes it more difficult for growers to manage important crop diseases. Although fungicide resistance may be perceived as less urgent than other day-to-day challenges of growing a crop, this issue has become increasingly important and steps must be taken to delay the onset for as long as possible.

The use of fungicides is becoming increasingly common in production of our agronomic crops like corn, soybeans and even cotton.  Most of the fungicides used belong to only a few at-risk classes of chemistry.  Important fungicides, e.g., azoxystrobin and tebuconazole, are now available as “generic” products. The availability of generic fungicides often leads to a reduction in cost, which can result in overuse of a product. This increases the risk of fungicide resistance.

It is becoming increasingly difficult to bring new fungicides to growers, especially fungicides in new classes.  Protecting the efficacy of fungicides in the strobilurin, triazole, SDHI and benzimidazole classes has never been more critical.

Read also "7 tips to efficiently protect corn yields with fungicides"

Implementing management strategies to reduce the risk for development of fungicide resistance are critical for the future of crop protection, but may be less convenient or more expensive than a grower’s current preferred practices.  However, overcoming such immediate concerns is a small price to pay when one considers the immense costs associated with resistance. 

While resistance to herbicides, insecticides and fungicides is perhaps inevitable, growers can take steps now to push the onset far into the future.

There are six basic strategies to minimize early development of fungicide resistance: