Wet conditions earlier this growing season created opportunities for disease development in Iowa fields, even as much of the state’s corn and soybean crop continues to show strong yield potential.
NewLeaf Symbiotics plant pathologist Allison Jack recently traveled through the eastern half of Iowa during the crop tour. Jack said Iowa crops generally looked favorable, with less storm damage than what she observed in parts of Indiana and Illinois.
Jack was also scouting side-by-side trials featuring NewLeaf’s Control Squared Plus biological products. The system combines crop-specific biostimulants with TS201, an EPA-registered bioinsecticide, and TS601, an EPA-registered biofungicide. Jack says those products are applied early in the season with the goal of helping plants handle challenges that develop later.
One of those trials was located near Salem in Henry County. Jack said the soybean field showed strong yield potential, but disease and insect pressure were still present.
Sudden death syndrome, white mold, stink bugs, and Japanese beetle damage were all observed. Jack said there was less sudden death syndrome pressure on the NewLeaf-treated side of the field.
The company also pulled plants to compare pod counts. Jack said plants under the grower’s standard practice averaged 60 pods, compared with 79 pods on plants receiving the full NewLeaf biological stack.
NewLeaf also observed differences while scouting corn near Guttenberg in Clayton County. Jack said southern rust had started to appear in the field, although overall incidence remained low.
She said they measured about half the incidence of southern rust on the Control Squared Plus treated side of the field.
Jack said slowing the development of disease can potentially give farmers more time to scout their fields and determine whether another treatment is necessary.
Jack says the goal is to provide another layer of protection against the disease and insect pressures that can develop throughout the growing season. She says that can be especially important even in fields with strong yield potential, where protecting plant health can help preserve that potential through harvest.
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