Beating yield-robbing diseases requires keeping an eagle eye on
your crop throughout the growing season. But while scouting is
important, disease management involves much more than burning
shoe leather walking your fields. Strategic planning begins long
before planting time, and it will make your scouting easier and
more effective. "Nowadays, almost all seed is sold with some
degree of seed treatment already applied, so you can spend less
time thinking about seed treatments," says Farm Journal Field
Agronomist Ken Ferrie. Use that time to think about which types
of diseases you're likely to deal with. "If you have noticed
seedling blight in past years, remember these are mostly water
molds, driven by cool, wet soil conditions," Ferrie says.
"Planting in ideal disease conditions like that can sometimes
offset the effect of a fungicide and the resistance that's bred
into a hybrid. So don't push the planting date in fields with
disease history when they're wet. If you can wait until the soil
is drier, you will h