Skip to Main Content

Tillage not answer to reducing tar spot risk

Contributing to another article for the Indiana Prairie Farmer, Dr. Dan Quinn, Extension Corn Specialist for the Department of Agronomy, weighed in on potential methods of prevention for tar spot. He joined a panel of Indiana certified crop advisors in answering the question:

Tar spot was here this year. Should we till fields to turn infected residue under? We’ve been leaving some stalks for no-till beans and running a vertical tillage tool. Will running a VT tool control tar spot?

Dr. Quinn is working with Dr. Darcy Telenko, Department of Botany & Plant Pathology, to look at planting shorter-maturity hybrids early as an alternative. The goal is to have the crop mature ahead of disease development so yields are not hurt as much.

"Unfortunately, most tar spot research hasn’t found additional benefit in tar spot control from tillage.", said Dr. Quinn. "Therefore, more aggressive tillage or the use of a VT tool likely won’t provide any additional benefit. Once tar spot is found, it tends to persist in those fields moving forward. Better control of tar spot will come from hybrid selection, crop scouting and proper fungicide timing when needed."

Hear answers from the other panelists in the full article on FarmProgress.

Featured Stories

Dog outdoors drinking water
Keeping your pets safe during the dog days of summer

As temperatures and humidity rise across the U.S., Candace Croney, director of the Center for...

Read More
Eastern hellbender salamanders feeding on bloodworms in their raceway at the Purdue Hellbender the Hellbender lab.
Metazoa Beer to Benefit Help the Hellbender Lab

Metazoa Brewing Company and the Indiana Lakes Management Society have teamed up to collaborate on...

Read More
Sonling Fei in front of digital trees
Digital forestry can help mitigate and prevent wildfires

The National Interagency Fire Center reports that, as of this writing, 19,444 fires have burned...

Read More
tomas hook next to boat
What you can do this summer to reduce the spread of aquatic invasive species

In 2020, an alligator was captured in a lagoon of Chicago’s Humbolt Park. The reptile out...

Read More
Researcher uses pipette on parsley plant
Researchers examine nanotechnological methods for improving agriculture

Nanoscale particles could potentially help address agricultural and environmental sustainability...

Read More
Fairgoers ride a tractor, sponsored by the Indiana Soybean Alliance, and browse food tents during the 2023 Indiana State Fair. (Purdue Agricultural Communications photo)
Purdue Extension to present engaging art and nature demonstrations at Indiana State Fair

The Indiana State Fair kicks off Aug. 2 and highlights the theme “The Art & Nature of...

Read More
To Top