Extension/Research Professor and Plant Pathologist with Mississippi State University at the DREC - corn, cotton, grain sorghum, rice, soybean, and wheat
ALT Illustration of the Fusarium stalk rot disease cycle demonstrating how the fungus overwinters in corn residue, is spread and infects the plant, and develops within the plant.
ALT Split corn stalk showing degraded pith tissue and pink mold.
ALT Three split stalks on a blue background showing pith that has rotted.
Cover crop seed doesn’t have to be confusing. There are basically three types of species that serve various roles.
✔️Cereal grains stabilize soil
✔️ Legumes fix nitrogen
✔️ Brassicas produce tubers
A key is to use a suitable legume. Berseem or Persian clover thrive in wet soil.
Following severe August flooding in parts of Indiana, ear rots and mycotoxin risk are important considerations as harvest gets underway.🌽
Read the latest from Camila Nicolli & Dan Quinn:
🔗ag.purdue.edu/news/departmen…@INCornFarmers
Areas of the north Delta corn crop were due after being wrecked by greensnap last year, and it definitely came through.
This outstanding hybrid plot was grown with irrigation by David Taylor near Sledge.
Thanks to David, eight participating seed companies and all involved. 🌽
Delayed soybean harvest during a wet fall can increase risk of seed issues. These images are from a field in central Iowa on September 24, 2026. #soybean#harvest26
ALT Soybean seeds in a pod with purple discoloration and seed coat cracking.
ALT Soybean seeds in a pod with white fungal growth and decay.
ALT Soybean seeds in a pod with fungal growth, discoloration, and seed coat cracking.
“Low Diversity of Isolates of Calonectria ilicicola, the Causal Agent of Red Crown Rot of Soybean, Detected Across Illinois,” by Steven J. Clough et al. Learn more: doi.org/10.1094/PDIS-07-25-1…
ALT Fig. 1. Examples of red crown rot (RCR) disease symptoms and signs of the pathogen (Calonectria ilicicola) on soybean at a field in our Illinois surveys.
It is a bit ironic that our most productive plots were often in dryland fields. Excessive moisture can be stressful also.
This fantastic corn hybrid plot was grown near Como by David Taylor.
Thanks to David, Brent, eight participating seed companies and all involved.
🌽
Harvested peanut trial at Plant Science Unit. For this @PeanutFarmers regional project, we are testing biological and conventional nematicides as well as a resistant cultivar against peanut root-knot nematode. 1 of 2 locations.
Dryland corn produced well in central Mississippi this summer.
These corn hybrid plots were grown near Edwards by Danny Mashburn, and at the Brown Loam Experiment Station by Tyler Soignier.
Thanks to Danny, Kyle, Tyler, eight participating seed companies and all involved.
🌽
ALT When crushed corn kernels are exposed to a black light, they can glow if kojic acid is present. Two piles of corn are shown. Each pile is shown under regular light and under black blight. In one the pile with kojic acid, it is shown glowing under the black light.
Corn can get charcoal rot too. However, in this particular situation I think it’s a secondary issue given we had such a hot year, irrigation was difficult to time, and the soil class in the areas with charcoal rot appears to be lighter than the rest of the field #secondary
Some good frogeye leaf spot evaluation data from the MSU soybean OVT in NW MS this afternoon. The photo on the right was two MG V varieties right next to one another….bottom leaflet appears rather resistant while the top leaflet appears rather susceptible @MSSOY