Corn Growers asked to help monitor Bacterial Leaf Streak Disease

Corn Growers asked to help monitor Bacterial Leaf Streak Disease

Kelly Allen
Kelly Allen
The Crop Pathology Lab at Colorado State is asking corn farmers to spend the waning weeks of summer helping to monitor Bacterial Leaf Streak disease.

Dr. Kirk Broders at CSU hopes farmers will send samples to the CSU diagnostic lab for study by the end of August.

"While the worst part of the disease has been in the Northeast part of the state. Sedgwick, Phillips, and Yuma counties, we were starting to pick it up in Morgan and Kit Carson counties last year. We want to see if it's getting worse in those counties but also see if it's beginning to spread South and West. We want to monitor the situation to see if it's different from last year."

Broders says it appears the disease will cost Colorado farmers about 5 to 10 percent yield loss this year. Going forward researchers say it will be about management, not eradication.

"And I think a combination of host plant resistance and management strategies to reduce residue borne inoculum will be the ways we're going to manage this disease in the future."

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