Why corn diseases are getting worse.

Gray leaf spot and southern rust are two diseases that prefer warm and wet weather, while northern corn leaf blight prefers a cool, wet environment, he says. Gray leaf spot and northern corn leaf blight will overwinter on residue to some degree, and conservation-minded farmers are leaving more residue compared to 30 years ago. When Matt Montgomery graduated with his bachelor's degree and started his agronomy career in 1994, there was only one foliar disease Illinois corn farmers needed to worry about: gray leaf spot. [Extracted from the article]