By
khardi J Mukuyu
One thing you can say about white mold: It’s not a bully. This fungal soybean disease doesn’t target wimpy soybeans.
Instead, it attacks fields you’d swear in midsummer they’d be bin-busting come fall.
“It’s a disease of high yield,” says Alan Scott, DuPont Pioneer technical product manager. “As we push (soybean) products northward, we are seeing more white mold.
Scott and other DuPont Pioneer scientists discussed white mold on an agricultural media tour of the firm’s research sites across the Midwest earlier this month. Elite genetics that fuel excellent growing soybeans couple with several other factors to give white mold a foothold.
They include:
* Narrow rows. Row spacings of 15 inches can promote a stuffy air environment in which white mold thrives. Wider rows are more conducive to airflow that can discourage white mold.
* Manured fields. Manure produces rapidly growing fields that can be prone to white mold.
* Plant architecture. Rapidly branching, bushy soybeans quickly form a canopy that’s good for snuffing weeds like waterhemp. Unfortunately, this architecture also fuels a quick-forming canopy that enables the white mold fungus to thrive.
* Crop rotation. Crops like sunflowers also host white mold. Thus, rotating to such crops doesn’t stop white mold.
* Weather. Heavy rainfall when soybeans begin to flower (R1) is a prime time for the white mold fungus to infect them. Heavy dews — such as those that cause your pant legs to be wet well into the morning — are also conducive to white mold infections.
In the Upper Midwest, Scott says this period normally occurs from July 20 into August, with the crop damage often showing up at the end of August. The good news is dry weather during this time can snuff white mold.
A fungicide applied around R1 followed by a subsequent application 14 to 21 days later can enable you to curb white mold in-season. That adds input costs, though. A better approach is to select varieties tolerant to white mold on suspect fields.
“The first line of defense is genetic,” says Steve Schnebly, DuPont Pioneer senior research manager.
noatz.com
Instead, it attacks fields you’d swear in midsummer they’d be bin-busting come fall.
“It’s a disease of high yield,” says Alan Scott, DuPont Pioneer technical product manager. “As we push (soybean) products northward, we are seeing more white mold.
Scott and other DuPont Pioneer scientists discussed white mold on an agricultural media tour of the firm’s research sites across the Midwest earlier this month. Elite genetics that fuel excellent growing soybeans couple with several other factors to give white mold a foothold.
They include:
* Narrow rows. Row spacings of 15 inches can promote a stuffy air environment in which white mold thrives. Wider rows are more conducive to airflow that can discourage white mold.
* Manured fields. Manure produces rapidly growing fields that can be prone to white mold.
* Plant architecture. Rapidly branching, bushy soybeans quickly form a canopy that’s good for snuffing weeds like waterhemp. Unfortunately, this architecture also fuels a quick-forming canopy that enables the white mold fungus to thrive.
* Crop rotation. Crops like sunflowers also host white mold. Thus, rotating to such crops doesn’t stop white mold.
* Weather. Heavy rainfall when soybeans begin to flower (R1) is a prime time for the white mold fungus to infect them. Heavy dews — such as those that cause your pant legs to be wet well into the morning — are also conducive to white mold infections.
In the Upper Midwest, Scott says this period normally occurs from July 20 into August, with the crop damage often showing up at the end of August. The good news is dry weather during this time can snuff white mold.
A fungicide applied around R1 followed by a subsequent application 14 to 21 days later can enable you to curb white mold in-season. That adds input costs, though. A better approach is to select varieties tolerant to white mold on suspect fields.
“The first line of defense is genetic,” says Steve Schnebly, DuPont Pioneer senior research manager.
noatz.com
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