Plant clinic requests tar spot samples, offers resources

Corn growers experienced an epidemic of tar spot in 2018, with the fungal disease occurring in 172 counties across the Midwest. With the potential for another significant outbreak in 2019, a University of Illinois plant pathologist is asking for help from growers.

“We need samples of corn and other plants [grasses, ornamentals] infected with tar spot from across the United States and surrounding regions to understand the variability of tar spot populations and develop molecular tools to aid in its study. If you have, or think you have, tar spot, please send your samples to me,” says Nathan Kleczewski, research assistant professor in the Department of Crop Sciences at U of I.

Growers should look for small, black, raised spots that are circular or oval appearing on one or both sides of leaves, leaf sheaths and husks. Spots may be found on both green and brown tissue. Kleczewski says the black spots may be surrounded by a tan or brown halo, which is especially obvious on healthy leaves.

Leaf samples should be wrapped in newspaper or dry paper towels and shipped in a large envelope, with the following information for each sample: date collected; field ZIP code or county and state; type of plant; number of plants in the field showing symptoms; approximate percent incidence in the area; collector’s name, phone number and email address.

Where possible, samples should be shipped early in the week, overnight, and on ice to: Field Crop Pathology Tar Spot Project, U of IL Plant Clinic, S-417 Turner Hall, 1102 S. Goodwin Ave., Urbana IL 61801.

In 2018, Kleczewski says, fields in the most severely affected regions reached 100% disease incidence and over 50% severity on the ear leaf before dent. Yield losses from the affected states were estimated at nearly 185 million bushels.

“Assuming a conservative estimate of $3.50 per bushel, this is equivalent to $647 million in lost revenue,” Kleczewski says.

Growers can learn more about the disease in a new corn disease management report from the Crop Protection Network. The free report is available online. The report was compiled by Kleczewski and Diane Plewa from U of I, as well as researchers from Michigan State University, Iowa State University, Purdue University and the University of Wisconsin.     

ISAP announces new partners

The Illinois Sustainable Agriculture Partnership, founded by groups like Illinois Corn and American Farmland Trust, recently announced three new groups will be joining the partnership as contributing partners: Illinois Land Improvement Contractors Association, Association of Illinois Soil and Water Conservation Districts, and Illinois Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever.

ISAP came together to build on the momentum around soil health, cover crops, water quality, nutrient management and conservation issues.

“The Illinois Land Improvement Contractors Association is excited to join forces with the Illinois Sustainable Agriculture Partnership to further assist with sustainable agriculture promotion and implementation — goals that inherently align with ILICA’s mission of dedication to the professional conservation of soil, water and natural resources,” says Ryan Arch, executive director of ILICA.

The Association of Illinois Soil and Water Conservation Districts is also joining the sustainability partnership. Grant Hammer, executive director of AISWCD, says his organization representing 97 soil and water conservation districts “looks forward to working with other stakeholder organizations to reach mutual conservation goals that promote the AISWCD’S mantra of clean water, healthy soils.”

Erin Holmes, Illinois Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever coordinator, says joining the group will help her organization achieve its goals, which center around helping farmers manage wildlife habitat.

“We are really looking forward to promoting the habitat benefits of edge-of-field practices. With ISAP, we’ll be working with great partners and exploring a new aspect to conservation work in the field with them,” Holmes says.

CCA Soy Envoys announced

A new class of soybean experts is ready to provide local recommendations to help Illinois soybean producers increase yields and profits while minimizing their environmental impact.

Supported by the Illinois Soybean Association checkoff program, the 2019 CCA Soy Envoys will contribute advice and in-season updates via ilsoyadvisor.com to assist Illinois producers with their goals. The 2019 class members include:

Brian Gordon, Iroquois County, is a farm leader in training for Martin Family Farms at their Northfork location, a 10,000-plus sow farm just across the Illinois state line in Boswell, Ind. He is a certified crop adviser. Growing up on a family farm and seed production business in Rantoul, Ill., he now resides in Milford with his family.

Dave Rahe, Montgomery County, specializes in soil fertility, site-specific fertilizer application and soil management. He is a certified professional soil scientist, certified professional soil classifier and 4R CCA. Rahe is a graduate of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign with a bachelor’s degree in agronomy. After a 25-year career with the Natural Resources Conservation Service in Illinois and Missouri, he began consulting in 2005. He is currently a partner with RPM Soils LLC and resides in Hillsboro.

Jason Carr, McLean County, is a technology development representative with Bayer Crop Science. Carr leads agronomic research projects with corn and soybeans. Prior to this role, he spent a decade in soybean breeding with Monsanto as part of a team developing numerous commercially successful varieties in RM Groups 2 and 3. Carr lives in El Paso and holds a master’s degree in molecular genetics and a bachelor’s degree in natural resources and environmental sciences from the U of I.

Samantha Schmidgall, Marshall County, is a sales agronomist and CCA for the Growmark-FS System. She is based in Toluca and supports Evergreen FS Inc. and Heritage FS Inc. in east-central Illinois. Schmidgall holds a bachelor’s degree in agriculture business from Western Illinois University.

Todd Thumma, Whiteside County, has been a CCA for 25 years and has been with Golden Harvest and its legacy brands for 15 years. Thumma is an Iowa State University graduate with a bachelor’s degree in agronomy and ag business. He resides in Morrison.

Tracy Heuerman, Effingham County, has worked within the Growmark-FS System for nine years, first as a crop specialist and now as a field sales agronomist. Raised on a family farm in south-central Illinois, Heuerman is still involved in growing corn, soybeans and wheat with her family. She holds a bachelor’s degree in agriculture economics and a master’s degree in plant and soil science, both from Southern Illinois University-Carbondale.

The CCA Soy Envoy program is a partnership between ISA and Illinois CCAs. Envoys write and record monthly content for the ILSoyAdvisor blog, participate in Better Beans Series events and represent ISA at industry events. Visit ilsoyadvisor.com to learn more and read updates from the CCA Soy Envoys.

Dicamba, paraquat training available

Last week was the end of in-person classes for dicamba label training through the Illinois Fertilizer and Chemical Association. Anyone who still needs training is now limited to the online classes offered by Bayer and BASF. The links to the training websites are listed at ifca.com/illinoisdicambatraining. 

These online training programs are also a great refresher for growers who want to review label requirements prior to application season. 

U.S. EPA is also requiring specific training for anyone who handles pesticides containing paraquat. However, the new product labels for paraquat pesticides specifying the new training requirement won’t be out until later this year, probably in the fall.

Technically, applicators do not need to undergo the training until they begin using paraquat products with the new labels, but there’s no reason growers can’t take the training now. It will be required once every three years.