Syngenta Thrive

by

Codling moth can be a nuisance year-round in walnuts, but the worst damage usually occurs as temperatures rise. The sooner it gets warm, the more insect generations that can follow. Control out of the gate goes a long way toward effective, year-long management of codling moth.

The first flight of codling moth usually takes place in spring from the overwintered generation. However, the first two peaks, 1A and 1B, can last several weeks as moths lay first-generation eggs. According to the University of California Integrated Pest Management Program, adult moths can emerge as late as the end of June in the Central Valley and into early July in the state’s coastal areas. Monitoring for infestation and damage can help you make the best treatment decisions for your tree nuts.

A close photo of a codling moth resting on a leaf.
Codling moths can damage your walnut quality and yield potential.

Second and third generation codling moth will start to emerge in June. The key to in-season control is to know what other economically damaging pests are present so you can treat all of them. Using any one product class too long will allow codling moth to develop a tolerance.

The use of Proclaim® insecticide is a good first step in managing the more destructive worms and offering some activity on adults. Proclaim is a Group 6 chemistry, which makes it a solid resistance management partner for other insecticides used later in the season on codling moth. Proclaim also doesn’t wipe out beneficial insects that are present at the same time as codling moth in walnuts.

MOST POPULAR ARTICLES

by

In the heat of July, almond hulls begin to split open and it’s a prime time for disease to attack. Mid-season, pre-harvest diseases like hull rot can greatly harm your bottom line if left unchecked.

Hull rot is a general term for hull infection by one of several pathogens. Hull rot can be a huge pain in the middle of the season because infected nuts don’t shake off at harvest and require removal by winter sanitation to eliminate

Almonds are susceptible to hull rot fungi from the beginning of hull split until hulls dry – a period that can last from ten days to two months depending on fertilization and irrigation. The infection invades once hull split begins and produces a toxin that kills the spur and shoot attached to the fruit, reducing bearing surface of the tree.

The disease makes it difficult to remove the almond kernel during harvest allowing the infection to harbor in remaining nuts and spread from year-to-year.

Identify Hull Rot

  • Check for a brown area on the outside of the hull and a tan fungal growth in the brown area on the inside or outside of the hull (this indicates Monilinia).
  • Check for a powdery black fungal growth on the inside of the hull (this indicates Rhizopus).

Identification of the specific pathogen (Monilinia or Rhizopus) may help with management for the following growing season, but a proactive, preventative approach will be your best bet in safeguarding your yield.

Prevent Disease During Hull Split

Have the right tools handy can give your trees a boost of protection and a better chance at improving yield. Applying a robust fungicide like Quadris Top® can offer a broad-spectrum control of hull rot and other damaging diseases, and has been shown to provide preventive, systemic and curative control on a wide spectrum of diseases.

MOST POPULAR ARTICLES

by

Tar spot was first discovered in Midwest corn fields in 2015 and continues to raise alarm bells. Severe cases of tar spot spread may lead to losses of up to 60 bu/A. Stay ahead of tar spot and prevent significant yield loss by frequently scouting your corn fields and developing a thorough disease management plan. Here’s how:

How to Scout for Tar Spot

Tar spot usually appears as raised, circular black spots on corn leaves, stalks and husks. Some other pathogens have similar symptoms, but the University of Minnesota Extension reports that growers can differentiate tar spot by wetting affected parts of plants and rubbing with their fingers. Unlike other diseases, tar spot will not rub off.

Tar spot has a long latent period, so corn can be infected and begin causing costly damage 14 days or more before you see it in your fields. Start early and scout frequently until silage to stay ahead of the disease and avoid late season losses.

Why Tar Spot Thrives in the Midwest

If tar spot wasn’t a problem last year, it might not be on your radar. However, tar spot thrives in the Midwest climate due to the cooler temperatures and high relative humidity. Increased potential rainfall can increase disease severity and lead to substantial yield loss if you’re unprepared.

To complicate matters further, tar spot overwinters and has spread rapidly since 2015. If tar spot was confirmed in neighboring states or counties, be on guard this year. Pay attention to the forecast and be prepared to pivot depending on tar spot pressure.

What to Know About Potential Yield Loss

Yield loss of 30 to 40 bu/A is common and can be even greater when corn is infected early in the season. But don’t let your guard down later in the season either — even at full-dent, tar spot can cause losses of up to 20%.

Tar spot can have long-term implications as well. Although only 20 to 25% of overwintering spores will survive, even just a few spores can cause significant damage. Under the right conditions, tar spot can produce millions of spores.

How to Manage Tar Spot

It’s tempting to save on input costs, but the possible damage and potential yield loss from tar spot isn’t worth it. Trials show that preventive fungicide applications are significantly more effective than curative applications against tar spot.

Tar spot isn’t the only threat to your corn crops. Other yield-robbing diseases like Northern corn leaf blight and gray leaf spot continue to threaten crops. Prioritize protecting your yields and ROI from a variety of corn diseases with a broad-spectrum plant-health fungicide like Miravis® Neo and Trivapro®.

Long-lasting disease protection is key to managing tar spot. Miravis Neo and Trivapro contain ADEPIDYN® and SOLATENOL® technology for powerful and more long-lasting protection against disease and environmental stress.

MOST POPULAR ARTICLES

by

To spray or not to spray? It’s the age-old question all growers face: is spraying a fungicide worth it? Local weather conditions and disease pressure factor into the yearly debate of whether or not to spray. But the question shouldn’t be if it’s worth spraying a fungicide, but if you can afford not to.

A map showing improved corn yields under wet and dry conditions with Miravis Neo and Trivapro fungicides from 2020 and 2021

In the last five years, 2020 was the driest summer and 2021 was the wettest. In both scenarios, Syngenta Cleaner & Greener fungicides showed excellent performance and improved corn yields over untreated acres. In the dry conditions of 2020, Miravis® Neo and Trivapro® fungicides delivered an average 14.1 bu/A yield increase over untreated; and in the wet, tar spot-heavy conditions of 2021, they delivered an average 17.2 bu/A increase over untreated1. The data also shows a 6.8 to 7.8 bu/A yield advantage in soybeans treated with Miravis Neo or Miravis Top compared to untreated acres2.

A map showing improved soybean yields under wet and dry conditions with Miravis Neo and Miravis Top fungicides from 2020 and 2021

By choosing a fungicide with both exceptional disease control and proven plant-health benefits, you can expect stronger, healthier plants – even under drought conditions. Why? It all comes down to three pillars: light absorption, water conservation and harvest efficiency. Syngenta technical product lead Tyler Harp explains how these add up to healthier plants and higher yield potential.

  1. Light Absorption:  Leaves that are greener can capture more light energy from the sun and focus more energy to money-making yield.
  2. Water conservation: Better water conservation with plant-health fungicides means a lower transpiration rate in the leaves, minimized water vapor loss in the crop, better moisture retention and a more efficient use of water, which is key in a drought.
  3. Harvest Efficiency: With fungicides that control disease and help preserve crop strength, there is less lodging and shattering at harvest. “This allows growers to conduct their harvest more quickly, saving time, fuel and ultimately money.

Together, improved water conservation, light absorption and harvest efficiency promote a healthier crop with maximized grain fill and yield potential.

Want to learn more about how Cleaner & Greener fungicides work? Watch as Harp and Syngenta product lead Logan Romines explain the bushel-boosting science behind the Syngenta fungicide portfolio.

Interested in how Cleaner & Greener fungicides can help preserve your yield potential? Visit BoostYourBushels.com to explore trials and calculate your ROI.

1 Syngenta on-farm, large strip trials. 2020 trial locations: IA (2), IL (33), IN (6), NE (6), OH (13), WI (11) and SD (26). 2021 trial locations: IL (35), IN (9), WI (7) and SD (13).

2 Syngenta on-farm, large strip trials. 2020 trial locations: IA (5), IL (29), IN (6), OH (10), WI (17) and SD (15). 2021 trial locations: IL (25), IN (1), WI (3) and SD (2).

by

We’ve all heard it before: Timing is everything, and it couldn’t be more true when considering when to make a fungicide application. Fluctuating weather conditions, commodity prices and disease severity complicate the timing decision, but now we know that timely applications of Syngenta plant-health fungicides are one of the best ways to consistently preserve yield potential under both disease conditions and environmental stressors like heat or drought. The steady increase in the number of corn and soybean growers that choose to apply a fungicide is evidence of the value fungicides deliver.

Prepare for Familiar Foes and Emerging Threats

Northern corn leaf blight, Southern rust, tar spot and gray leaf spot have earned their reputation as devastating corn diseases, and white mold, brown spot and frogeye leaf spot are known to decimate soybean fields.

These well-known threats pack a serious punch. Southern rust, a familiar foe to corn growers primarily in Southern states, can cause yield losses of up to 100 bu/A, according to the University of Florida IFAS. Meanwhile, researchers at South Dakota State University determined that white mold can cause soybean yield losses of over 40% depending on the infected growth stage. Corn growers also contend with emerging threats like tar spot, which has caused yield losses ranging from 20-80% since its discovery in the U.S. in 2015.

To better protect your fields from disease threats, timing is crucial when making your fungicide application to make sure you are getting the most value from your fungicides.

Spray When Disease Impacts Yields

Apply too early, and corn and soybeans are left vulnerable to late-season disease. Apply too late, and susceptible crops might not be able to recover from the onslaught of disease or environmental stress. Even worse, the wrong fungicide at the wrong time can negatively impact corn’s health, leaving it more susceptible to disease and providing little disease protection.

For both corn and soybeans, the optimal fungicide application window is centered around critical growth periods when disease has the greatest potential to impact yields.

Corn Application Timing

The largest yield reduction occurs at R1, when corn is fully tasseled, beginning to green silk and under stress. Foliar fungicides applied at tasseling or early silking (VT-R1) provide optimal disease control by preventing disease onset when corn is most susceptible to stress. VT-R1 applications deliver better overall disease control, stalk integrity and harvest efficiency. Applications at this crucial stage in development are most likely to see a yield response and provide significant value to your bottom line.

An illustration of a corn plant depicting the ideal VT-R1 fungicide application timing
Corn fungicide applications between VT-R1 help combat environmental stress, disease and ultimately yield reduction.

Soybean Application Timing

For most foliar soybean diseases, including frogeye leaf spot and brown spot, the ideal fungicide application window is at the R3 or “beginning pod” stage. The R3 growth stage occurs when the pod is 3/16” long at one of the four uppermost nodes of a main stem with a fully developed leaf. Foliar fungicides applied at this stage have the greatest impact on yield preservation because disease severity is beginning to rapidly increase and stress in the following R4-R6 stages can cause severe reductions in yield.

However, fields with a history of white mold might require an earlier application, especially if extended periods of cool weather are on the forecast. In this case, consider applying a fungicide at early bloom to late bloom. By the time you see widespread symptoms in the field, it will be too late to manage white mold effectively.

Choose the Right Fungicide

To help get the most out of your fungicide application, choose a product with a long-lasting residual to make sure your crops are protected between application and potential disease onset. Early applications of fungicides without a strong residual may only delay disease onset and ultimately still open the door for late-season losses.

That’s why we recommend Miravis® Neo corn and soybean fungicide and Trivapro® corn fungicide. Miravis Neo and Trivapro both provide long-lasting residual control as well as broad-spectrum preventive and curative disease control. The enhanced application flexibility and long-lasting residual help protect yield potential from application to harvest.

Reap the Rewards of Cleaner & Greener Fungicides

Both Miravis Neo and Trivapro fungicides do more than protect against disease. With the right application timing, they also provide plant health benefits to preserve yield potential, even in years with low disease pressure.

For corn and soybeans, these benefits include:

  • Improved water conservation.
  • Increased light absorption.
  • Improved CO2 assimilation and nitrogen utilization.
  • More efficient harvest.

These benefits translate to healthier, more productive crops by shifting energy away from fighting disease and environmental stress and toward growth and grain fill. Whether you are battling heavy disease pressure or drought conditions, these fungicides can provide consistent yield preservation.

Trial data shows that Miravis Neo and Trivapro fungicides delivered yield increases to corn and soybean fields over untreated in both the drought conditions of 2020 and the wet, tar-spot heavy conditions of 2021.

MOST POPULAR ARTICLES

by

Weed infestations in wheat crops can cause severe reductions in yield by damaging plants, out-competing for resources, or interfering with harvest. It’s important to scout frequently and correctly identify threatening weeds to pick the right treatment program. Keep an eye out for these common weeds by learning their key identifying characteristics.

Kochia

Kochia plant in late season wheat
Kochia plant in late season wheat

Kochia is a summer annual in the goosefoot family. Here’s how to identify it:

  • Kochia matures to 1 to 6 feet tall.
  • Cotyledons are stalkless, elliptical and softly hairy with dull green upper surfaces. They may be pink on the underside.
  • Seedling stems are hairy and green to reddish in color.
  • Their stems grow upright and are branched with hairs on the upper parts. They may be tinged red.
  • Look for alternately arranged leaves with a narrow lance shape and smooth, hairy edges.
  • Leaves are typically 1 to 2 inches long and may have silky hairs on the underside.
  • Small green flowers grow in clusters in the upper leaf axils and on terminal spikes.

Russian Thistle

Russian thistle plant
Russian thistle plant

Russian thistle is a summer annual in the goosefoot family, but their hairless leaves distinguish them from kochia. Here are other key features to look for:

  • Russian thistle is 6 inches to 4 feet tall at maturity.
  • Seedling stems are striped with reddish-purple streaks. Their first true leaves appear opposite and are fleshy and needle-like.
  • Their stems are profusely branched with short, stiff hairs and reddish-purple streaks. They become stiff and dry later in the season.
  • Leaves grow alternately and are hairless, thin and linear or needle-shaped with a stiff, prickly spine at the tip.
  • Flowers develop in the leaf axils on the upper portions of the stem and have five pale green to red, petal-like, membranous sepals that surround the developing seed.

Wild Oat

Wild oat plant
Wild oat plant

Wild oat is a summer annual in the grass family. It poses a unique threat as grains from wild oat can mix with wheat grains, causing price penalties in harvested crops. Look for these characteristics to distinguish this grass:

  • Wild oat can grow up to 4 feet tall.
  • Seedlings have hairy leaves and the seed clings to the seedling for a long time.
  • Stems are round and hairless.
  • Leaves are flat, rolled in the bud and often twisted counterclockwise. They can be up to 8 inches in length and usually have a few short hairs at the base of the blade.
  • Their flower heads are open and branched, and spikelets hang like pendants from flowering branches. They typically bloom from March to June.

Foxtail

Flower head of a green foxtail plant
Flower head of a green foxtail plant

Foxtail is a summer annual in the grass family. These come in yellow, green and giant varieties and their flowers are their most distinguishing feature. Keep an eye out for these other features:

  • Foxtails are 1 to 3 feet tall at maturity.
  • Their seedlings’ first leaves are usually parallel to the ground and rolled in the bud.
  • Stems branch and grow erect or bent at the base, but ascend upwards overall.
  • Their leaves are 4 to 15 inches in length with a spiral twist.
  • Flower heads are spikelike, bristly and densely packed with flowers.

Wild Radish

Wild radish plant
Wild radish plant

Wild radish is a winter or summer annual in the mustard family. The following features distinguish it from other weeds:

  • Wild radish reaches a mature height of 1 to 4 feet.
  • Seedlings are purple with stiff hairs below their cotyledons. Seedling leaf blades are hairless and kidney to heart shaped with an indent.
  • Stems are densely hairy at the base and branched.
  • Leaf edges are irregularly toothed and lobed. They grow alternately, with stiff hairs on the top, bottom and edges.
  • Branched clusters of flowers grow at the ends of stems and branches. They have four petals each and are pale yellow to cream white with purple veins.

Common Ragweed

Common ragweed plant in a wheat field
Common ragweed plant in a wheat field

Another summer annual weed to look for is common ragweed, which is in the aster family. Here are some features to look for:

  • Common ragweed reaches 1 to 3 feet in height.
  • Seedling stems are purple. Cotyledons are dark green and paddle shaped; young leaves are green and deeply divided into lobes.
  • Stems are branched and densely covered with rough hairs.
  • Leaves grow to 2 to 4 inches in length and are fern-like with longer stalks on lower parts of the plants.
  • Green flowers are arranged in clusters of male and female flowers.

For more information about wheat weeds, reach out to your Syngenta representative.

MOST POPULAR ARTICLES

by

As we move into the latter part of the season, keep disease threats top of mind. While crops may not begin to show signs of disease until later in the season, early action is key to preventing infection.

Keep an eye out for these tomato diseases and make a plan to protect your yield potential.

Disease Threats

A couple of key diseases and disease carriers are likely to present themselves early in the season. Brought to plants by beet leafhoppers acting as vectors for the disease, curly top can cause real challenges for your crop. Phytophthora root rot begins to affect tomatoes about a month after planting.

The most common disease threat to tomatoes is early blight. Early blight is driven by Alternaria infections and can occur at any stage of development. Like many pathogens, the spores of this pathogen spread by wind or water splash, surviving between seasons on crop debris in the soil.

Disease Problems Posed

Tomato leaf infected with early blight
Early blight spores spread by wind and water splash to infect tomato leaves.

Each diseases pose a unique risk to yield potential in tomatoes. Diseases cut growing plants off from nutrients to nurture their own growth and overtake early-emerging plants. Defoliation caused by disease limits the leaf surface area available to photosynthesis. This can cause stunted growth, reduced quality and lower yield potential.

Plants infected by curly top can turn yellow, become stiff and stop growing, potentially killing the plant. Curly top gets its name from the first symptom that usually appears: discolored leaves that curl in at the edges.

Phytophthora root rot can also cause plant death. Brown lesions might be seen around the base, and eventually the roots can rot away and die, causing plants to grow slowly or wilt.

Early blight degrades the tissue it infects. Lost growth means the plant must divert energy to regenerate and results in a reduced canopy that may not be able to support as large a crop. Defoliation in the lower part of the plant leaves the tomato fruit susceptible to sunscald, opening the door to rot.

How to Protect Your Crop

Following through on a sound management plan drives marketable yield in tomatoes. Cultural tactics paired with preventive fungicide applications can help keep crops healthy through harvest.

Cultural practices include:

  • Developing and sticking to a crop rotation program.
  • Removing volunteer weeds.
  • Culling infected tomatoes to reduce sources of inoculum and, therefore, disease.
  • Using drip irrigation to minimize moisture on plants.

Preventive treatment can also help preserve marketable yield potential. Adding a fungicide with efficacy on Alternatia, such as Aprovia® Top or Miravis® Prime to a mildew or hopper spray can help with early control. These products also offer strong residual control on both powdery mildew and early blight.

Like any disease management program, preventive action is foundational to protecting yield and quality potential through the end of the season.

MOST POPULAR ARTICLES

by

No matter what weather conditions each season brings, you can count on peanut diseases to make an appearance in the Southeast. Cool, wet conditions early in the season increase the risk for seedling diseases like Pythium, Rhizoctonia, and Fusarium, whereas excessive heat or fluctuations in soil moisture during the seedling development stage creates favorable conditions for outbreaks of Aspergillus crown rot. These early-season diseases can impact plant health and cause problems throughout the growing season and into harvest, including reduced yield potential and decreased shelling grade.

Be Proactive

Prioritizing proactive disease management in your annual plans is critical to manage the cycle of early-season diseases. Disease and nematode management is one of the most important aspects of peanut production in the southeastern U.S.

The Peanut Rx program is a valuable resource that can inform your decisions this year. This tool provides insight into risk factors, including variety, planting date and plant population, to help you understand which diseases to expect and plan accordingly.

Mitigating diseases with a preventive approach will help you come out on top and allow your seeds to achieve their full yield potential.

Start Strong with Seed Treatments

Fungicide seed treatments give you an advantage at the start of the season and act as an insurance policy against impending diseases. Starting the season with a proven seed treatment is the best way to protect vulnerable seedlings from a variety of pests. We recommend Trebuset® Peanuts fungicide seed treatment, a liquid fungicide premix that provides benefits over traditional dust seed treatments.

Trebuset Peanuts combines the best chemistries to bring seed quality and early-season disease management to the next level. With five active ingredients, Trebuset Peanuts stays on the seed to defend against key early-season diseases while also helping protect developing roots, deliver strong stands and support higher yield potential.

A 2020 study in Georgia showed that stressed seeds treated with Trebuset Peanuts had nearly 3,250 more plants per acre than untreated peanuts, demonstrating seed treatments’ value in fighting difficult diseases like Aspergillus crown rot and post-emergence damping off.

For more information about early-season peanut diseases and solutions, reach out to your local Syngenta representative.

MOST POPULAR ARTICLES

by

Are you prepared to tackle tough cotton diseases this season? Target spot and areolate mildew can have serious impacts on cotton yield if left unchecked. As you plan your disease management strategy, use this information as a refresher about some of the mid- to late-season problems to keep an eye on:

Target Spot

  • Damage: Target spot may cause significant defoliation very quickly after infection and has become more common in the U.S. In severe cases, it can cause yield losses of more than 200 lbs. of lint per acre. Rank growth, short rotations, excessive irrigation, higher rainfall and warmer temperatures can lead to disease development.
  • Symptoms: This disease is usually distinguishable by dime-sized spots with circles inside that make the spot look like a target. Target spot causes plants to lose leaves from the bottom before progressing upward. It is sometimes confused with Alternaria or Stemphylium leaf spot, but is usually seen target spot lower in the canopy.

Areolate Mildew

  • Damage: Before 2017, this fungal disease was typically only found in southeastern GA but has since spread. In 2018 and 2019, NC cotton fields also experienced damage from areolate mildew.
  • Symptoms: This late-season disease favors wet and humid weather and causes a characteristic powdery, white-to-gray growth on the underside of leaves. It can cause defoliation and impact yield if it occurs more than four weeks.

Boll Rot & Hardlock

  • Damage: Severe problems from boll rot and hardlock are an annual concern if you experience cool, wet weather late in the season, such as extended rains from a hurricane or tropical storm. Hardlock caused by Fusarium verticillioides can be devastating in the FL Panhandle.
  • Symptoms: Boll rots begin deep in the cotton canopy. To a certain extent, rotted bolls as well as bolls with hardlock — where the boll will remain unopened even at maturity — can be observed in low, scattered quantities in almost every cotton field.

Use a Tougher Defense

Properly timed fungicide applications can effectively manage these diseases. Miravis® Top fungicide is a high-performing solution for cotton growers facing possible yield loss due to disease. Miravis Top delivers tougher disease control in cotton to protect yield and ROI potential.

MOST POPULAR ARTICLES

by

Full-season citrus crop protection starts with the roots. It could take years to see  disease symptoms on the surface of the citrus tree, as many pathogens begin their destruction in the root systems. By the time symptoms are visible, citrus tree health and production levels are diminished.

Disease-spreading pathogens like Phytophthora can be silent killers, stealing water and nutrients from your trees, leaving them tired — especially younger trees. Phytophthora root rot damage begins below the soil, then extends through root systems to ultimately affect the entire tree. Phytophthora species are prolific spore producers that spread damaging diseases including root rot, foot rot and brown rot. Devastatingly, it may unintentionally be introduced and re-introduced through water sources every year, making annual soil testing imperative.

A strong and healthy fibrous root system is essential to overall tree health and productivity, so active management of Phytophthora root rot is essential. The symptoms commonly seen above ground include yellowing of foliage, abscission of leaves, dying shoots and reduced fruit size and yield.

Managing difficult soilborne oomycete diseases like Phytophthora root rot requires powerful fungicides and proactive disease management. Orondis® fungicide recharges trees and protects developing citrus root systems by reducing the number of viable Phytophthora propagules in the soil. The result is stronger root development and healthier trees.

A comparison photos shows the advantages in root health and mass of roots treated with Orondis fungicide over untreated.
Citrus roots in the top image were treated with Orondis® fungicide at the University of California Riverside in 2016. Citrus roots in the bottom image were untreated.

Managing citrus groves to their highest potential requires effective, consistent control from root to fruit. Protecting your groves with Orondis fungicide may improve root mass, facilitate better water and nutrient use, improve root health and ultimately increase your marketable yield potential.

For additional information about how Orondis can help you manage and prevent the spread of damaging diseases in your citrus groves, reach out to your Syngenta representative.

MOST POPULAR ARTICLES